< Hezekiel 26 >
1 Le ƒe wuiɖekɛlia me, le ɣletia ƒe ŋkeke gbãtɔ dzi la, Yehowa ƒe nya va nam be,
Almost twelve [after we had been taken to Babylonia], on the first day of the month, Yahweh gave me another message. He said to me,
2 “Ame vi, esi Tirotɔwo gblɔ le Yerusalem ŋu be, ‘Ahã! Dukɔwo ƒe agbo kaka, eye woƒe ʋɔtruwo ʋu nam. Azɔ esi eƒe dua gbã ta la, nuwo adze edzi nam’ ta la,
“You human, [the people of] Tyre [city] shouted joyfully and said about Jerusalem, ‘[Jerusalem, ] the city from which many traders/merchants went to many nations, is now destroyed. And now people from all over the world will come to us to buy and sell things. Because Jerusalem has now been ruined, we will prosper!’
3 ale Aƒetɔ Yehowa gblɔe nye si: Metsi tsitre ɖe ŋuwò. O! Tiro, mana dukɔ geɖe naho ɖe ŋuwò abe ale si atsiaƒu naa eƒe ƒutsotsoewo dea dzi ene.
Therefore, this is what [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am now the enemy of [you people of] Tyre. I will [the armies of] many nations to come and attack your [city], like the waves of the sea beat against the shores.
4 Woagbã Tiro ƒe gliwo, eye woamu eƒe xɔ tsralawo. Makplɔ eƒe gli gbagbã kakɛawo ɖa, eye mana wòazu agakpe ƒuƒlu
Their soldiers will destroy the walls around Tyre and tear down its towers. Tyre will become a place where people from many nations steal valuable things, [and then the city will be completely destroyed]. Then they will scrape away the rubble and cause the city to become a bare rock.
5 Le atsiaƒu me la, azu ɖɔsiaƒe. Nyee ƒo nu; Aƒetɔ Yehowae gblɔe. Azu nuhaha na dukɔwo,
Out in the sea, Tyre will become an island where men spread [their fishing] nets to dry them. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh the Lord, have predicted it.
6 eye eƒe duwo le anyigba la dzi me tɔwo atsi yinu. Ekema woanya be nyee nye Yehowa.”
The people in small villages on the coast near Tyre will be killed [their enemies’] swords. Then people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’
7 “Elabena ale Aƒetɔ Yehowa gblɔe nye si. Makplɔ Nebukadnezar, Babilonia fia, fiawo dzi fia tso anyiehe, wòaho aʋa ɖe Tiro ŋu kple tasiaɖamwo kple sɔwo kple sɔdolawo kple aʋakɔ gã aɖe.
This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, [is going to happen]: ‘From the north, I am going to bring the most powerful king [in the world], King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, [with his army] to attack Tyre. They will bring horses and chariots, and men who ride the horses [and men who drive the chariots]; it will be a huge army.
8 Atsɔ yi awu wò du siwo le anyigba dzi la me tɔwo, atu dzɔlawo ƒe xɔ tsralawo ɖe ŋuwò, aƒu kpo ɖe ŋuwò, eye wòakɔ akpoxɔnu dzi ɖe ŋuwò.
[In the battles in the small villages] on the coast, their soldiers will kill [many] people with their swords. [Then] they will set up devices to batter the wall around the city of Tyre, and they will build a dirt ramp up to the top of the wall, and they will all hold up shields [to protect themselves from arrows being shot from the ground].
9 Atrɔ eƒe gligbãnuwo ɖe wò gliwo ŋu, eye wòatsɔ eƒe aʋawɔnuwo agbã wò xɔ tsralawo.
The king will direct the soldiers who operate the (rams/things) to batter the walls, and who will use their iron bars to tear down the towers in the wall.
10 Eƒe sɔwo asɔ gbɔ ale gbegbe be woana ʋuʋudedi natsyɔ dziwò. Aʋawɔsɔwo, kekewo kple tasiaɖamwo ƒe hoowɔwɔ ana wò gliwo naʋuʋu kpekpekpe, ne ege ɖe wò agbowo me abe ale si amewo gena ɖe du si ŋu gli gbã le la me ene.
The king will have a huge number of horses, [the stamping of their hooves will result in] the city being covered with dust. [It will be as though] the walls will tremble because of the noise made by the horses, the [supply] wagons, and the chariots when they enter the city where the walls have been broken down.
11 Eƒe sɔwo ƒe afɔkliwo agblẽ nu le wò ablɔwo katã dzi, awu wò amewo kple eƒe yi, eye wò sɔti sesẽwo amu adze anyi.
The horses will trample all of the [of the city] with their hooves. The soldiers will kill the people with their swords; and they will cause your strong pillars to (collapse/fall to the ground).
12 Woaha wò kesinɔnuwo, alɔ wò adzɔnuwo, woamu wò gliwo, woagbã wò xɔ dzeaniwo, eye woalɔ wò kpewo, xɔtutuwo kple gli gbagbãwo akɔ ɖe atsiaƒu me.
They will take away all the people’s valuable possessions and steal the things that the merchants sell. They will tear down the walls of the houses and destroy their fine houses. Then they will throw into the sea the stones [from the walls] of those houses and the timber and the rubble.
13 Mana wò hadzidzi ƒe ɖiɖi sesĩe nu natso, eye womagase wò kasaŋkuwo ƒe ɖiɖi azɔ o.
No longer will you sing noisy songs, and people will not play their harps any more.
14 Mana nàzu agakpe si le ƒuƒlu, eye nàzu teƒe si woasia ɖɔwo ɖo. Womagbugbɔ wò atu akpɔakpɔ o, elabena, nye Yehowae ƒo nu. Aƒetɔ Yehowae gblɔe.
The enemy soldiers will cause the city to become a bare rock and [only] a place where men spread [their fishing] nets. And the city will never be rebuilt. [Those things will surely happen] because [I], Yahweh the Lord, have [that they will happen].’
15 “Ale Aƒetɔ Yehowa gblɔ na Tiroe nye si. ‘Ɖe wò ƒuta maʋuʋu kpekpekpe le wò anyidzedze ƒe ɖiɖi ta, ne abixɔlawo le hũu ɖem, eye amewuwu le edzi yim le mewò oa?
This is [also] what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say about [the people of] Tyre: ‘When the wounded [people in Tyre] groan and many people are slaughtered and the city is destroyed, [it will surely be as though] [RHQ] the areas along the coast will tremble.
16 Ekema dziɖula siwo le ƒuta duwo me la aɖi le woƒe fiazikpuiwo dzi, eye woaɖe woƒe fiawuwo kple awu ŋɔŋɔewo ada ɖi. Vɔvɔ̃ aɖo wo, woanɔ anyigba, anɔ dzodzom nyanyanya ɣeawo katã ɣi, eye woƒe nu aku ɖe ŋuwò.
Then all the kings [in the cities] along the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and their embroidered clothes. They will be terrified, and they will sit on the ground, trembling. They will be appalled because of what has happened to the city of Tyre.
17 Ekema woadzi konyifahawo ɖe ŋuwò, eye woagblɔ nya siawo na wò. “‘Aleke ƒudzitɔwo gbã wò, o, du xɔŋkɔ! Ènye ŋusẽ nɔ ƒuwo dzi kpɔ, wò kple wò amewo, mienye ŋɔdzi na ame siwo katã nɔ afi ma.
Then they will sing a sad song about the city, and they will sing this: “The famous city [APO], in which many [who sailed on] the seas lived, is now destroyed! The people of that city had great power [because they had many ships that sailed] on the seas; they caused all the people who lived near them to be terrified.
18 Azɔ la, wò ƒutanyigbawo le dzodzom kpekpekpe le wò anyidzegbe ta, eye vɔvɔ̃ ɖo ƒukpowo le atsiaƒu me le wò anyidzedze ta.’”
Now on the day when that city is destroyed, [it is as though the people in] the areas along the coast tremble and the [the people on the] islands in the sea are terrified because of that city being ruined.”’
19 Alea Aƒetɔ Yehowa gblɔe nye esi. “Ne mena nèzu aƒedo abe du si me ame aɖeke megale o, ne mehe atsiaƒu ƒe gogloƒe tsyɔ dziwò, eye eƒe tsi gbawoo la ƒo xlã wò la,
This is also what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘When I cause the city [of Tyre] to become desolate/empty, like [other] cities in which people no [longer] live, and when I cause the huge waves of the sea to cover it,
20 ekema mana nàyi to kple ame siwo yi aʋlime, àyi gbe aɖe gbe tɔwo gbɔ. Mana nànɔ anyigba te, le aƒedo xoxowo me kple ame siwo yi aʋlime, màgatrɔ agbɔ alo axɔ wò teƒe le agbagbeawo ƒe anyigba dzi o.
then I will bring the people of that city down to be with those who have gone down to where the dead people are, people who lived long ago. I will cause them to remain in the place below the earth that is like old/ancient ruins, with those who have gone down to that pit [previously], and they will never return to the earth, to where people are alive.
21 Mana wò nuwuwu nadzi ŋɔ, eye màganɔ anyi o. Woadi wò, gake womagakpɔ wò akpɔ o. Aƒetɔ Yehowae gblɔe.”
I will cause them to die in a horrible way (OR, people will be very afraid because of what happens to that city), and that will be the end of (them/their lives). People will search for that city but it will no longer exist. [That is what I, ] Yahweh the Lord, declare [will happen].’”