2 Kings 19
1 When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough cloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went to the temple [to ask God what to do].
Ɛberɛ a ɔhene Hesekia tee yeinom no, ɔsunsuanee ne ntadeɛ mu, ɛnna ɔfiraa ayitoma, na ɔkɔɔ Awurade asɔredan mu.
2 He summoned Eliakim and Shebna and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, and told them to talk to me.
Na ɔsomaa ahemfie sohwɛfoɔ Eliakim, ɔtwerɛfoɔ Sebna ne asɔfoɔ mpanin a wɔn nyinaa hyehyɛ ayitadeɛ kɔɔ Amos babarima odiyifoɔ Yesaia nkyɛn.
3 He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that we are having great distress/trouble now. [Other nations are causing] us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [MET] a woman who is about to give birth to a child, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
Wɔka kyerɛɛ no sɛ, “Sɛdeɛ ɔhene Hesekia ka nie: Saa ɛda yi yɛ ɔhaw, animka ne animguaseɛ da. Ayɛ te sɛ deɛ mmɔfra awoɔ duru so na ahoɔden a wɔde bɛwo wɔn nni hɔ.
4 Perhaps Yahweh your God has heard everything that the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss/master, the king of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will rebuke/punish him for what he said.’ And he requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].”
Nanso, ebia Awurade, mo Onyankopɔn ate sɛ Asiria ɔnanmusini no regu Onyankopɔn teasefoɔ no anim ase, na wɔbɛtwe nʼaso wɔ ne nsɛnkeka no ho. Enti mommɔ mpaeɛ mma nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔte nkwa mu no.”
5 When the messengers from Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
Na ɔhene Hesekia mpanimfoɔ no kɔkaa ɔhene nkra no kyerɛɛ Yesaia,
6 Isaiah said to them, “[Go back to] your boss/master [and] tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Those messengers from the king of Assyria have said evil things about me. But you should not be disturbed because of what they said.
na Yesaia buaa sɛ, “Ka kyerɛ wo wura sɛ, ‘Sɛdeɛ Awurade seɛ nie: Mma abususɛm a Asiriahene asomafoɔ no ka tiaa me no nha wo.
7 Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that will worry him, [that a foreign army is about to attack his country]. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.’”
Montie! Mede honhom bi rebɛhyɛ ne mu, sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a sɛ ɔte asɛm bi a ɔbɛsane akɔ ne ɔman mu, na ɛhɔ na mɛma wɔde akofena akum no.’”
8 The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had left Lachish [city], and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official went there [to report to him what had happened in Jerusalem].
Ɛberɛ a ɔsahene no tee sɛ Asiriahene afiri Lakis no, ɔsanee nʼakyi kɔhunuu sɛ ɔhene no ne Libna reko.
9 Soon after that, King Sennacherib received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army, and was coming to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to King Hezekiah with a letter.
Ankyɛre, ɔhene Sanaherib nyaa nkra sɛ, Etiopiahene Tirhaka adi akodɔm anim, rebɛko atia no. Na ansa na ɔbɛsane akohyia akodɔm no, ɔtoo saa nkra yi sɛ wɔmfa nkɔma Hesekia wɔ Yerusalem.
10 [In the letter] he wrote this to Hezekiah: “Do not allow your god on whom you are relying to deceive you by promising that [the city of] Jerusalem will not be captured by my army [MTY].
“Monka nkyerɛ Yudahene Hesekia sɛ: Ɛmma onyame a wode wo ho ato no so no nnaadaa mo nka sɛ, ‘Asiriahene rentumi mfa Yerusalem.’
11 You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries. Our armies have completely destroyed them. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
Moate deɛ Asiria ahemfo ayɛ amanaman no nyinaa. Wɔasɛe wɔn pasaa. Na mo deɛ wɔbɛgye mo anaa?
12 Did the gods of the nations that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue the people in the Gozan region and in Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria] and the people of Eden who had been (deported/forced to go) to Tel-Assar [city]? None of the gods of those cities were able to rescue them.
Anyame a wɔwɔ aman a me nananom sɛee wɔn no, aman te sɛ Gosan, Haran, Resef ne Edenfoɔ a na wɔwɔ Telasar no anyame gyee wɔn anaa?
13 What happened to the kings of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim and Ivvah [cities] [RHQ]? [Most of them are dead, and the other people were deported]!”
Ɛhe na Hamathene ne Arpadhene, kuropɔn Sefarwaim anaa Hena anaa Iwa ahemfo no wɔ?”
14 Hezekiah took the letter that the messengers gave him, and he read it. Then he went up to the temple and spread out the letter in front of Yahweh.
Hesekia nsa kaa krataa a abɔfoɔ no de baeɛ no, ɔkenkaneeɛ. Afei ɔforo kɔɔ Awurade asɔredan no mu kɔtrɛɛ mu wɔ Awurade anim.
15 Then Hezekiah prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom to whom we Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the [statues of] creatures with wings, [above the Sacred Chest]. Only you are truly God. You rule all the kingdoms on this earth. You are the one who created [everything on] the earth and [in] the sky.
Na Hesekia bɔɔ mpaeɛ kyerɛɛ Awurade sɛ: “Ao, Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn a wodi ɔhene firi Kerubim ntam, wo nko ara na woyɛ Onyankopɔn wɔ asase so ahennie nyinaa so. Wo na wobɔɔ ɔsoro ne asase.
16 So, Yahweh, please listen to what I am saying, and look [at what is happening]. And listen to what King Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God.
Brɛ wʼaso ase, Ao Awurade, na tie! Bue wʼani, Ao Awurade, na hwɛ! Tie Sanaherib nsɛm a ɔka de bu Onyankopɔn teasefoɔ no animtiaa.
17 “Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations, and ruined their land.
“Awurade, ɛyɛ nokorɛ sɛ Asiria ahemfo asɛe aman yi nyinaa, sɛdeɛ nkra no ka no.
18 And they have thrown the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But [that was not difficult to do, because] they were not gods. They were only statues made of wood and stone, idols that were shaped by humans, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
Na wɔato aman yi anyame agu ogya mu, ahye wɔn. Asiriafoɔ no tumi sɛe wɔn ɛfiri sɛ na wɔnyɛ anyame koraa. Na wɔyɛ nnua ne aboɔ ahoni a nnipa de wɔn nsa ayɛ.
19 So now, Yahweh our God, please rescue us from the power [MTY] [of the king of Assyria], in order that the people in all the kingdoms of the world will know that you, Yahweh, are the only one who is truly God.”
Afei, Ao Awurade, yɛn Onyankopɔn, gye yɛn firi ne tumi ase, na ɛbɛma ahennie a ɛwɔ asase so nyinaa ahunu sɛ wo nko ara, Ao Awurade, na woyɛ Onyankopɔn.”
20 Then Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, says: 'I have heard what you prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
Na Amos babarima Yesaia too saa nkra yi kɔmaa Hesekia sɛ, “Sɛdeɛ Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn, seɛ nie: ‘Mate wo mpaeɛbɔ a ɛfa Asiriahene Sanaherib ho no.
21 This is what I say to him: “The people of Jerusalem [MTY] despise you and make fun of you. They wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
Yei ne asɛm a Awurade aka atia no: “‘Ɔbabaabunu Sion sopa wo, na ɔsere wo. Ɔbabaa Yerusalem di wo ho fɛ, na ɔwoso ne ti ɛberɛ a woredwane.
22 Who do you think that you are despising and ridiculing? Who do you think you were shouting at? Who do you think you were looking at very proudly/arrogantly? It was I, the holy God whom the Israelis worship.
Hwan na wasopa no na woagu ne ho fi yi? Hwan na woama wo nne so atia no na wohwɛɛ no ahantan so? Ɛyɛ Israel ɔkronkronni no!
23 The messengers that you sent made fun of me. You said, 'With my many chariots I have gone to the highest mountains, even to the highest mountains in Lebanon. We have cut down its tallest cedar trees and its nicest pine/cyprus trees. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its dense forests.
Wonam wʼasomafoɔ so adi Awurade ho fɛw. Na woaka sɛ, “Mede me nteaseɛnam bebrebe no adi bepɔ tentene pa ara so, aane, Lebanon nkokoɔ a ɛwɔ akyirikyiri no. Matwitwa ntweneduro atentene pa ara ne ne pepeaa a ɛdi mu no nso agu fam. Maduru ne twetwɛwa so akyirikyiri na manantenante ne kwaeɛbirentuo mu.
24 We have dug wells in other countries and drank water from them. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”’
Matutu nsubura wɔ ahɔhoɔ nsase bebree so de ne nsu pa no adwodwo me ho. Mpo, mepaee Misraim nsubɔntene mu sɛdeɛ mʼakodɔm bɛtumi atwa!”
25 [‘But I reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [that those things would happen]? I planned it long ago, and now I have been causing it to happen. I planned that your army would have [the power to] capture many cities that were surrounded by high walls, and cause them to become piles of rubble.
“‘Na Monteeɛ? Ɛberɛ tentene a atwam na mehyɛ too hɔ. Ɛberɛ bi a atwam no na medwenee ho; afei mama aba mu sɛ, moadane nkuropɔn a mosɛe nkuro a wɔwɔ banbɔ ma wɔdane aboɔ asie.
26 The people who lived in those cities have no power, and as a result they became dismayed and discouraged. They are as frail as plants and grass in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
Wɔn nkurɔfoɔ a tumi afiri wɔn nsa no ho adwiri wɔn na animguaseɛ aka wɔn. Wɔte sɛ afuo so nnua, ne afifideɛ foforɔ a ɛyɛ mmrɛ; wɔte sɛ ɛserɛ a ɛfifiri ɛdan atifi a owia tumi hye so sɛe no.
27 “But I know [everything about you]. I know when you are in your house and when you go outside; I also know that you are (raging/speaking very angrily) against me.
“‘Nanso, menim deɛ woteɛ ɛberɛ a woba ne ɛberɛ a wokorɔ ne sɛdeɛ wo bo huru tia me.
28 So, because you have raged against me, and because I have heard [MTY] you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and an iron (bit/piece of metal) in your mouth [in order that I can lead you where I want you to go], and I will force you to return [to your own country] on the same road on which you came here, [without conquering Jerusalem].” '
Na ɛsiane mo ahomasoɔ a ɛtia me, na mʼankasa mate no enti, mede me darewa bɛsɔ mo hwene mu, na mede nnareka ato mo ano, na mama mo afa ɛkwan a mofaa so baeɛ no so, asane mo akyi.’
29 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “This is what will happen to prove [that I am telling the truth]: This year and next year you [and your people] will be able to harvest only (wild grain/grain that grows without having been planted). But the following year, you [Israelis] will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and to plant vineyards and eat the grapes that you harvest.
“Yei na ɛbɛyɛ nsɛnkyerɛnneɛ ama woɔ, Ao Hesekia: “Saa afe yi wobɛdi deɛ ɛno ankasa fifirie, afe a ɛtɔ so mmienu no, wobɛdi deɛ ɛfiri mu ba. Na afe a ɛtɔ so mmiɛnsa so no, mobɛdua mfudeɛ, na moatwa. Mobɛyɛ bobe nturo, na moadi nʼaba no.
30 The people [MTY] in Judah who remain alive will prosper and have many children; they will be like plants whose roots go deep down into the ground and which produce much [MET].
Na mo a moaka Yuda a moatumi agyina ntua no mu ɔhaw ne abɛbrɛsɛ no ano no, mobɛsane atena mo asase so, na mobɛdi yie na moadɔre.
31 There will be many people in Jerusalem [DOU] who will survive, because Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven, wants [PRS] it to happen.
Na nkaeɛfoɔ bi bɛfiri Yerusalem aba, na nkaeɛfoɔ dɔm afiri Bepɔ Sion so. Asafo Awurade di nsiyɛ bɛhwɛ ama yei aba mu.
32 So this is what Yahweh, says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter this city; they will not even shoot any arrows into it! His soldiers will not march outside the city gates carrying shields, and they will not even build high mounds of dirt against [the city walls] [to enable them to attack the city].
“Yei ne asɛm a Awurade ka fa Asiriahene ho: “Ɔrenhyɛne saa kuropɔn yi mu na ɔrento bɛmma wɔ ha. Ɔremfa akokyɛm mmɛnnyina kuropɔn no akyi na ɔrensi otua pie ntia no.
33 Their king will return to his own country on the same road on which he came here. He will not enter this city! [That will happen because] I, Yahweh have said it!
Ɔhene no kwan a ɔfaa so baeɛ no ara so na ɔbɛsane afa akɔ nʼankasa ɔman mu. Awurade ka sɛ, ɔrenwura saa kuro yi mu.
34 I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed. I will do this for the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised to King David, who served me well.'”
Esiane mʼankasa mʼanimuonyam ne mʼakoa Dawid enti, mɛbɔ ho ban.”
35 That night, an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had put up their tents, and killed 185,000 of their soldiers! When the rest of their soldiers woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere!
Saa anadwo no, Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ kɔɔ Asiria sraban mu, kɔkumm Asiria akodɔm no mpem ɔha aduɔwɔtwe enum. Asiriafoɔ a wɔkaeɛ no nyanee anɔpa no, wɔhunuu sɛ afunu gugu mmɔntene so baabiara.
36 Then King Sennacherib left and went home to Nineveh, [the capital of Assyria].
Na Asiriahene Sanaherib gyaee ɔko no, kɔɔ nʼankasa nʼasase so. Ɔkɔtenaa nʼahenkuro Ninewe mu.
37 One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. Then they escaped and went to [the] Ararat [region, northwest of Nineveh]. And another of Sennacherib's sons, Esarhaddon, became the king of Assyria.
Ɛda koro bi a ɔresom wɔ ne nyame Nisrok abosonnan mu no, ne mmammarima Adramelek ne Sareser de wɔn akofena kɔkumm no. Wɔdwane firii hɔ kɔtenaa Ararat asase so, na ne babarima foforɔ Esarhadon bɛdii nʼadeɛ sɛ Asiriahene.
