< Isaiah 18 >
1 Terrible things will happen to [you people] of Ethiopia! In your land there are many sailboats at the upper part of the Nile River.
Baba na anyigba si le Kus ƒe tɔsisiwo ƒe go kemɛ dzi, afi si tɔdziʋu siwo doa abala la zɔna,
2 Your rulers send ambassadors that sail [quickly] down the river in papyrus boats. You messengers to Ethiopia, go quickly! Go [up the river] to people who are tall and who have smooth skin. People everywhere are afraid of those people, because they conquer and destroy [other nations]; they live in a land that is divided by branches of one large river.
dukɔ si dɔa amewo ɖona ɖe atsiaƒu kple tɔsisiwo dzi kple aƒlatɔdziʋu siwo ɖia du sesĩe. Midɔ ame dɔdɔ ɖeablawo ɖe dukɔ dzɔatsu si ƒe amewo kɔ, eye wo ŋu zrɔ̃ la gbɔ, dukɔ si amewo vɔ̃na le gbeta, du didiwo ke hã me, dukɔ nyanyra si fiana dzea amewo dzi hetsrɔ̃a wo; dukɔ si ƒe anyigba me tɔsisi geɖewo si to.
3 [You messengers] must tell people everywhere, to people everywhere, “Look when I lift up my battle flag on top of the mountain, and listen when I blow the ram’s horn [to signal that the battle is about to begin].”
Mi xexea me nɔlawo katã kple anyigbadzitɔwo, ne wotu aflaga ɖe towo dzi la, miakpɔe. Ne woku kpẽ la, miasee. Ale si Yehowa gblɔ nam lae nye esi:
4 [Listen] because Yahweh has told me this: “I will watch quietly from where I live. I will watch as quietly as [SIM] the heat waves shimmer as they rises on a hot summer day, as quietly as the dew forms [on the ground] during harvest time.”
“Manɔ anyi kpoo anɔ nu kpɔm tso nɔnyeƒe abe ale si yame kɔnae ne ŋdɔ le ʋuʋum sesĩe la ene, abe ale si lilikpo dzaa ahũ le nuŋeɣi le dzomeŋɔli ene.”
5 But [even] before the army of Ethiopia starts to attack, while their plans are [slowly forming] like [SIM] grapes that are ripening, Yahweh will [get rid of them like a farmer who] [MET] cuts off the new shoots of the grapevines with his shears, and prunes the branches that have become very long.
Elabena hafi nuŋeɣi nava yi ne seƒoƒowo hã nava yi, eye seƒoƒowo nazu wain ɖiɖi la, matsɔ hɛ̃ gobɛ la alã alɔawoe aƒu gbe.
6 All [the soldiers in the army of Ethiopia] will be killed, and their corpses will lie in the fields for vultures to eat their flesh in the (summer/hot season). Then wild animals will [chew on their bones] all during the (winter/cold season).
Woagblẽ wo katã ɖi na to dzi xe ƒonuwo kple anyigbadzilãwo; xe ƒonuwo anɔ wo dzi le dzomeŋɔli, eye anyigbadzilãwo katã anɔ wo dzi le vuvɔŋɔli.
7 At that time, the people of that land that is divided by the branches of that one big river will take gifts to Yahweh in Jerusalem. Those tall people who have smooth/dark skin, whom people everywhere are afraid of, because they conquer and destroy many countries, will take gifts to Jerusalem, the city where the Commander of the armies of angels lives.
Ɣe ma ɣi la, dukɔ si dzɔ atsu ƒlalu, eye eŋu zrɔ̃ dredredre, dukɔ si wovɔ̃na le didiƒe ke, dukɔ si kli tsu, eye wònyaa avuzi le ame dzi, dukɔ si ƒe anyigba me tɔsisiwo to yi la, ahe nunanawo vɛ na Yehowa le Zion to la gbɔ, afi si wosubɔnɛ le.