Jeremiah 7
1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said to me,
Esiae nye gbedeasi tso Yehowa gbɔ na Yeremia:
2 “Go to the entrance of my temple, and give this message to the people: You people of Judah who worship here, listen to this message from Yahweh!
“Tsi tsitre ɖe Yehowa ƒe aƒe la ƒe agbonu, eye tso afi ma nàɖe gbeƒã nya sia: “‘Mise Yehowa ƒe nya, mi Yudatɔ siwo katã to agbo sia me yina be miasubɔ Yehowa.
3 The Commander of the armies of angels says to you, ['If you] stop doing evil things and start doing what is right, I will allow you to remain living in your land.'
Ale Yehowa Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ la, Israel ƒe Mawu la gblɔe nye esi: Miɖɔ miaƒe mɔwo kple miaƒe nuwɔnawo ɖo eye mana mianɔ teƒe sia.
4 [But some people] are repeatedly saying to you, ‘The temple of Yahweh is here, [so we will be safe]; [he will not allow us and the temple to be destroyed].’ But do not pay attention to what they say, because they are deceiving you.
Migaxɔ beblenyawo dzi se ahanɔ gbɔgblɔm be, “Esiae nye Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ, Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ, Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ o!”
5 [I will act mercifully to you only] if you change your behavior and stop doing evil things, and if you [start to] act fairly/justly toward others,
Ne mieɖɔ miaƒe mɔwo kple miaƒe nuwɔnawo ɖo vavã eye ne mieto nyateƒe le miaƒe nuwɔnawo me kple mia nɔewo,
6 and if you stop oppressing foreigners [who live in your country], and orphans and widows, and if you stop murdering people, and if you stop worshiping (foreign gods/idols). However, if you continue to do those things, you will be destroyed.
ne miete amedzrowo, tsyɔ̃eviwo kple ahosiwo ɖe to o eye miekɔ ʋu maɖifɔ ɖi le teƒe sia o; ne miedze mawu bubuwo yome hena miawo ŋutɔ ƒe gbegblẽ o la,
7 If you do what I have told you, I will allow you to stay in this land that I promised to your ancestors that it would belong to them [and their descendants] forever.
ekema mana mianɔ teƒe sia le anyigba si metsɔ na mia fofowo be wòanye wo tɔ tegbee la dzi.
8 [People are repeatedly] telling you, [‘The temple is here, so we are safe]’, and you are trusting/believing [that what they are saying is true], but it is a lie. [Those people are deceiving you, and what they say is] worthless.
Gake mikpɔ ɖa miele dzi ɖom ɖe beblenya siwo nye toflokowo la ŋuti.
9 You think that [RHQ] you can steal things, murder people, commit adultery, tell lies in court, and worship Baal and all those other gods that you did not know about previously,
“‘Ɖe miagafi fi, awu ame, awɔ ahasi, aka atam dzodzro, ado dzudzɔ ʋeʋĩ na Baal eye miadze mawu bubu siwo mienya o la yome vɔ,
10 and then come here and stand in front of this temple, which is my temple, and say ‘Nothing bad will happen to us!’, while you continue to do all those abominable things.
emegbe miagava atsi tsitre ɖe ŋkunye me le aƒe sia si ŋuti woyɔ nye Ŋkɔ ɖo la me ahagblɔ be, “Míele dedie. Míele dedie,” ne miawɔ ŋunyɔnu siawo katã?
11 Do you realize that you are causing this temple, which is my temple, to become like [MET] a den where bandits hide [RHQ]? Do you not know that I see [all the evil things that you people do there]?
Ɖe aƒe sia si ŋuti woyɔ nye Ŋkɔ ɖo la zu adzodalawo ƒe do na mia? Ke nye la, mele ekpɔm!’” Yehowae gblɔe.
12 [Long ago] I put my Sacred Tent at Shiloh [city], to be a place where people would worship me [MTY]. Think about how I [destroyed it] because my people, the Israeli people, did [many] wicked things there.
“Mitso azɔ ne miayi ɖe Silo afi si mewɔ nɔƒe ɖo zi gbãtɔ na nye Ŋkɔ, ne miakpɔ ale si mewɔe le nye dukɔ, Israel ƒe nu tovo wɔwɔ ta.
13 And while you were continually doing those wicked things, I told you about it many times, but you refused to listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer [me].
Yehowa be, ‘Esi mienɔ nu siawo katã wɔm la, meƒo nu na mi zi geɖe gake miesee o, meyɔ mi gake mietɔ o.
14 Therefore, just like I destroyed Shiloh, I will [now] destroy this temple that was built for people to worship me [MTY], this temple that you trust in, that is in this place that I gave to you and your ancestors.
Eya ta nu si mewɔ na Silo la, eya kee mawɔ azɔ na aƒe si ŋuti woyɔ nye ŋkɔ ɖo, gbedoxɔ si ŋuti mieɖo ŋu ɖo kple teƒe si metsɔ na mi kple mia fofowo.
15 And I will expel you from this land and send you [to other countries] far away from me, just like I did to your relatives, the people of Israel.”
Manya mi ɖa tso nye ŋkume abe ale si mewɔ mia nɔvi Efraimviwo ene.’
16 [Yahweh said to me, “Jeremiah], do not pray for these people [any longer]. Do not cry for them or plead for [me to help] them, because I will not pay any attention to you.
“Eya ta, mègado gbe ɖa ɖe dukɔ sia ta o. Mègaɖe kuku ɖe wo nu alo aƒo koko ɖe wo ta o, eye mègaƒoe ɖe nunye o, elabena nyemaɖo to wò o.
17 Do you see [the wicked things] that they are doing in the streets of Jerusalem and in the [other] towns in Judah?
Mèle nu si wɔm wole le Yuda duwo me kple Yerusalem ƒe ablɔwo dzi la kpɔm oa?
18 The children gather firewood and their fathers use it to make fires [on the altars to burn sacrifices]. The women knead/make dough to make cakes to offer to [their goddess Astarte who is called] the Queen of Heaven. And [on their altars] they pour out offerings of wine to [their] other idols. All of those things cause me to become extremely angry!
Ɖeviwo le nake fɔm, wo fofowo le dzo dom, wo dadawo le amɔ blum ne woame akpɔnɔ na Dziƒofianyɔnu. Woƒo aha ɖi na mawu bubuwo ne woatsɔ ado dziku nam.
19 But I am not [RHQ] the one whom they are hurting; they are really [RHQ] hurting themselves [by doing these things for which they should be] very ashamed!”
Yehowa be, ‘Nyee wole dziku dom na? Ɖe menye woawo ŋutɔ boŋue le nuvevi wɔm wo ɖokui hena woƒe ŋukpe oa?’
20 So Yahweh the Lord says this: “Because I am extremely angry with [what happens at] this place, I will punish these people severely [MTY]; my being very angry will be [like] [MET] a fire that will not be extinguished, and I will destroy the people, [their] animals, [their] fruit trees, and [their] crops.”
“Eya ta, ale Aƒetɔ Yehowa gblɔe nye esi: ‘Woatrɔ nye dziku kple dɔmedzoe helĩhelĩ akɔ ɖe teƒe sia dzi, ɖe amewo kple lãwo siaa dzi, ɖe atiwo kple gbewo kple atikutsetse siwo le anyigba dzi la dzi woabi dzo eye womatsi o.’
21 Therefore, this is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “Take away [IRO] your offerings that you bring to burn completely on your altars and your [other] sacrifices; [don’t give them to me]; eat them [yourselves]!
“Ale Yehowa, Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ, Israel ƒe Mawu la gblɔe nye esi: ‘Miyi edzi, mitsɔ miaƒe numevɔsawo kpe ɖe akpedavɔsawo ŋu eye miawo ŋutɔ miaɖu lã la.
22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not offerings to be completely burned on the altar or [other] sacrifices that I wanted from them.
Elabena esi mekplɔ mia fofowo tso Egipte heƒo nu na wo la, nyemede se na wo tso numevɔsa kple akpedavɔsawo ko ŋu o.
23 What I told them was, ‘Obey me; [if you do that], I will be your God and you will be my people. If you do the things that I want you to do, everything will go well for you.’
Ke boŋ mede se sia na wo. Miwɔ ɖe nye gbe dzi ekema manye miaƒe Mawu eye mianye nye dukɔ. Mizɔ le mɔ siwo ƒe se mede na mi la dzi, be wòanyo na mi.
24 But your ancestors would not pay any attention [DOU] to me. They continued to do [the evil things] that they wanted to do, everything that in their stubborn inner beings they desired to do. Instead of coming closer to me, they went further away from me.
Gake womeɖo to alo see nam gɔ̃ hã o, ke boŋ wowɔ nu dzeaglã siwo woƒe dzi vɔ̃ɖiwo gblɔ na wo. Wote gbugbɔɖemegbezɔzɔ, eye womezɔ yi ŋgɔ o.
25 From the day that your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send my prophets to you.
Tso gbe si gbe mia fofowo ʋu tso Egipte va se ɖe fifia la, meɖo nye nyagblɔɖilawo ɖe mi gbe sia gbe kple ga sia ga me.
26 But you, [my people], have not listened to me or paid attention to what I said; you have been stubborn, and you have done more sinful things than your ancestors did.”
Gake womeɖo to alo see nam o. Wonye kɔlialiatɔwo, eye wowɔ nu vɔ̃ɖi wu wo fofowo.’
27 [Then Yahweh said to me], “When you tell all this to my people, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer.
“Ne ègblɔ nu siawo katã na wo la, womaɖo to wò o. Ne èyɔ wo la, womatɔ na wò o.
28 Say to them, ‘You people [of Judah] have not obeyed Yahweh, your God; you have not accepted it when he tried to correct you. No one among you is truthful; you do not say anything that is true; [you speak only lies].’
Eya ta gblɔ na wo be, ‘Esiae nye dukɔ si meɖo to Yehowa, woƒe Mawu la alo ɖoa to ɖɔɖɔɖo o. Nyateƒe tsrɔ̃, eye wòbu le woƒe nuyiwo dzi.
29 [So, tell them to] cut off their hair [to show that they are mourning]; tell them to go up into the hills and sing a sad funeral song, because I have completely rejected [DOU] this generation [of people] who have made me angry.”
“‘Lũ ta, eye nàtsɔ ɖa la aƒu gbe. Lia to kɔkɔ ƒeƒlewo, nɔ anyi nàdzi konyifaha elabena Yehowa gbe nu le dzidzime si le eƒe dɔmedzoe helĩhelĩ te la gbɔ eye wògblee ɖi.’”
30 Yahweh says this: “The people of Judah have done many things that I say are evil. They have set up their disgusting idols in my temple, causing it to become an unacceptable [place to worship me].
“Yehowa be, ‘Yuda dukɔ wɔ nu si nye vɔ̃ le ŋkunye me. Woli woƒe legba nyɔŋuwo ɖe aƒe si ŋu woyɔ nye Ŋkɔ ɖo la me hedo gui.
31 They have built altars at Topheth in Ben-Hinnom Valley [outside Jerusalem], and they sacrifice their sons and daughters on those altars. I never commanded them to do that; I never even thought that anyone would do that.
Wotu nuxeƒewo na Tofet ɖe Ben Hinom ƒe Balime, be woatɔ dzo wo viŋutsuwo kple vinyɔnuwo le afi ma, nu si meva tame nam kaka mayi mɔ ɖe ge le eŋu na wo o.’
32 So they should beware! There will be a time when that place will no longer be called Topheth or the Hinnom Valley; instead, it will be called the Valley of Slaughter. There will be a huge number of people who will be buried there, with the result that there will be no space to bury more bodies.
Eya ta Yehowa be, ‘Mikpɔ nyuie elabena ŋkekewo li gbɔna esi amewo magayɔe be Tofet alo Ben Hinom ƒe Balime o, ke boŋ woayɔe be, ku ƒe balime, elabena woaɖi ame kukuwo ɖe Tofet va se ɖe esime teƒe maganɔ anyi o.’
33 The corpses of my people that are [not buried and are] left on the ground will be eaten by vultures and wild animals, and there will be no one to shoo/chase them away.
Ekema ame kukuawo ƒe ŋutilã azu nuɖuɖu na dziƒoxewo kple lã wɔadãwo, eye ame aɖeke manɔ anyi si anya wo o.
34 There will be no one singing and laughing any more in the streets of Jerusalem; there will be no more joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides in Judah, because the land will be completely destroyed.”
Mana aseyetsotso, dzidzɔhawo, ɣlidodo ɖe ŋugbetɔ kple ŋugbetɔsrɔ̃ ŋu natɔ te le Yuda duwo me kple Yerusalem ƒe ablɔwo dzi, elabena anyigba la azu gbegbe.
