< Matthew 2 >
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem [town] in Judea [province] during the time [MTY] that King Herod [the Great ruled there. Some time] after Jesus was born, some men who studied the stars and who lived in a [country] east [of Judea] came to Jerusalem.
Bere a Ɔhene Herode di ade no na wɔwoo Yesu wɔ Betlehem a ɛwɔ Yudea.
2 They asked [people], “Where is the one who has been born [in order that he might be] the king of [you] Jews? [We believe that your new king] has been born, because we have seen the star [that we believe indicated that] he has been [born]. [We saw it while we were in our country] east [of here]. So we have come to worship him.”
Saa bere no ara mu na anyansafo bi fi apuei baa Yerusalem bebisae se, “Ɛhe na Yudafo hene a wɔawo no no wɔ? Yehuu ne nsoromma wɔ apuei nohɔ, nti na yɛaba sɛ yɛrebɛsom no.”
3 When King Herod heard [what those men were asking], he became worried [that someone else might be proclaimed] {[people might proclaim someone else]} [king of the Jews to replace him]. Many [of the people] of Jerusalem [MTY, HYP] [also] became worried [because they were afraid of what King Herod might do].
Ɔhene Herode tee saa asɛm yi no, ɛhaw ɔne Yerusalemfo nyinaa adwene yiye.
4 Then Herod gathered together all the ruling priests and men who taught the people the [Jewish] laws and he asked them where [the prophets had predicted that] the Messiah was to be born.
Ɔhene Herode frɛɛ ɔman no mu asɔfo mpanyin ne Kyerɛwsɛm no akyerɛkyerɛfo behyiae. Obisaa wɔn se, “Ɛhefa na wɔbɛwo Kristo no?”
5 They said to him, “[He will be born] in Bethlehem, [here] in Judea [province], because it was written by the prophet [Micah] {the prophet [Micah] wrote} [long ago what God said]:
Wobuaa no se, “Betlehem a ɛwɔ Yudea. Na eyi ne nea odiyifo no kae:
6 ‘You [who live in] Bethlehem [APO], in Judea [province], your town is certainly very important [LIT], because a man from your [town] will become a ruler. He will guide my people [who live in] Israel.’”
“‘Ao kurow Betlehem, wo a woyɛ otitiriw wɔ Yudaman mu, wo mu na meyi nea obedi me man Israel anim ahwɛ wɔn so.’”
7 Then [King] Herod secretly summoned those men who studied the stars. He asked them exactly when the star [first] appeared. [By what they told him, he was able to know the approximate age of the baby].
Ɔhene Herode frɛɛ anyansafo no kokoa mu bisaa wɔn bere pɔtee a wohuu nsoromma no. Ɔtoaa so ka kyerɛɛ wɔn se,
8 Then he [concealed what he really planned to do and] said to them, “Go to Bethlehem and inquire thoroughly [where] the infant is. When you have found him, [come back and] report to me so that I, myself, can go [there and] worship him, too.”
“Monkɔ Betlehem nkɔhwehwɛ abofra no. Sɛ muhu no a, mommɛka nkyerɛ me, na me nso menkɔsom no bi.”
9 After the men heard what the king [told them], they went [toward Bethlehem]. To their surprise, the star that they had seen while they were in the eastern [country] went ahead of them [again] until it stood above [the house] where the child was.
Anyansafo no tiee ɔhene no asɛm no wiei no, wɔkɔe. Wɔrekɔ no, nsoromma a wohuu wɔ apuei no san yii ne ho adi bio kyerɛɛ wɔn. Edii wɔn anim kosii faako a wɔawo abofra no wɔ Betlehem hɔ.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced greatly [and followed it].
Bere a wohuu nsoromma no, wɔn ani gyee mmoroso.
11 They [found] the house and entered it and saw the child and his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure [boxes] [MTY] and they gave gold, [costly] frankincense, and myrrh to him.
Woduu ofi a abofra no ne ne na Maria wɔ mu no, wɔkotow sɔree no. Wɔde wɔn akyɛde a ɛyɛ sikakɔkɔɔ, aduhuam ne kurobow yɛɛ no ayɛ.
12 [Because] God [knew that King Herod planned to kill Jesus], in a dream the men who studied the stars were warned {he warned the men who studied the stars} that they should not return to [King] Herod. So they returned to their country, [but instead of traveling back on the same road, they] went on a different road.
Onyankopɔn soo wɔn dae bɔɔ wɔn kɔkɔ se wɔnnsan nkɔ Herode nkyɛn bio wɔ Yerusalem. Enti wɔfaa ɔkwan foforo so kɔɔ wɔn kurom.
13 After the men who studied the stars left [Bethlehem], an angel [from] the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you [(sg) that you should leave], because [King] Herod is about [to send soldiers] to look for the child so that they can kill him.”
Anyansafo no kɔ akyi no, Awurade bɔfo soo Yosef dae se, “Sɔre fa abofra no ne ne na na monkɔ Misraim nkɔtena hɔ nkosi sɛ mɛkyerɛ mo bere a mobɛsan aba. Efisɛ Ɔhene Herode rehwehwɛ abofra no akum no.”
14 So Joseph got up, he took the child and his mother [that] night, and they fled to Egypt.
Anadwo no ara Yosef faa abofra no ne Maria sii mu kɔɔ Misraim,
15 They stayed there until [King] Herod died, [and then they left Egypt]. By doing that, it was {they} fulfilled what the prophet [Hosea] wrote, which had been said by the Lord {which the Lord had said}, I have told my son to come out of Egypt.
ma wɔtenaa hɔ kosii sɛ Ɔhene Herode wui. Eyi na ɛmaa nea Awurade nam odiyifo no so kae se, “Mafrɛ me Ba afi Misraim” no baa mu.
16 [While King] Herod [was still living], because he realized that he had been tricked by the men who studied the stars {the men who studied the stars had tricked him}, he became furious. Then, [assuming that Jesus was still in Bethlehem or the surrounding regions], Herod sent [soldiers there] to kill all the boy babies two years old and younger. [Herod calculated how old the baby was], according to what the men who studied the stars told him [about when the star first appeared].
Herode huu sɛ anyansafo no adaadaa no no, ne bo fuw mmoroso. Ɔsomaa nʼasraafo se wɔnkɔ Betlehem ne nkurow a atwa ho ahyia no nyinaa mu nkokunkum nkokoaa mmarimaa kosi wɔn a wɔadi mfe abien so, sɛnea anyansafo no bere a wɔkae sɛ wɔwoo abofra no wɔ mu no kyerɛ no.
17 [Because Bethlehem and Ramah towns were in the area where the descendants of Jacob’s wife Rachel lived, when soldiers killed the infant boys], they fulfilled what Jeremiah the prophet wrote,
Nea wɔnam odiyifo Yeremia so kae no baa mu se,
18 [Women] in Ramah were weeping and wailing loudly. [Women who were the descendants] of Rachel, [the ancestor of the women there] [SYN], were grieving for [what happened to] their children. [Even though people tried to comfort them], they would not be comforted {stop mourning}, because their children were dead.
“Wɔte nne bi wɔ Rama. Ɛyɛ osu ne agyaadwo; Rahel resu ne mma; na ɔmpɛ sɛ wɔkyekye ne werɛ, efisɛ wɔnte ase bio.”
19 After Herod died [and while Joseph and his family were still in Egypt], an angel that the Lord [had sent] appeared to Joseph in Egypt in a dream.
Herode wu akyi no, Awurade bɔfo yii ne ho adi kyerɛɛ Yosef wɔ dae mu wɔ Misraim ka kyerɛɛ no se,
20 He said to Joseph, “Take the child and his mother and go back to Israel [to live], because the people who were looking for the child [in order to kill him] have died.”
“Sɔre na fa abofra no ne ne na kɔ Israel asase so, efisɛ wɔn a wɔpɛe sɛ wokum abofra no awuwu.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother, and they went back to Israel.
Yosef faa abofra no ne ne na san kɔɔ Israel asase so bio.
22 When Joseph heard that Archaelaus now ruled in Judea [district] instead of his father, [King] Herod [the Great], he was afraid to go there. Because he was warned {[God] warned Joseph} in a dream [that it was still dangerous for them to live in Judea], he [and Mary and Jesus] went to Galilee [District]
Yosef tee sɛ Arkelao a ɔyɛ Herode ba na odi hene wɔ Yudea saa bere no mu no, osuroo sɛ ɔbɛkɔ hɔ. Awurade san soo no dae foforo bio sɛ ɔnnkɔ Yudea, na mmom, ɔnkɔ Galilea.
23 to Nazareth [to live there]. The result was that what had been said by the ancient prophets {what the ancient prophets had said} [about the Messiah], that he would be called {people would call him} a Nazareth-man, was fulfilled {came true}.
Enti wɔkɔtenaa kurow Nasaret mu. Eyi nso maa nea adiyifo no kae se, “Wɔbɛfrɛ no Nasareni” no baa mu.