Yosua 24
1 Yosua yɔ Israelviwo katã, woƒe ƒomewo ƒe ametsitsiwo, tatɔwo kple ʋɔnudrɔ̃lawo siaa ƒo ƒu ɖe Sekem le Mawu ŋkume.
[Many years later], Joshua summoned representatives of all the tribes of Israel. He gathered together the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the other officials at Shechem [city]. He told them to listen to what God wanted to tell them.
2 Yosua gblɔ na wo be, “Yehowa, Israel ƒe Mawu la be, ‘Mia tɔgbuiwo, Tera, Abraham kple Nahor fofo wonɔ Frat tɔsisi la ƒe ɣedzeƒe, eye wosubɔ mawu bubuwo.
Joshua said to all of them, “This is what Yahweh, the God we Israeli people worship, is saying: ‘Long ago, your ancestors, including Abraham’s father Terah and Abraham’s younger brother Nahor, lived on the east side of the Euphrates River.
3 Ke mekplɔ Abraham, mia tɔgbui, tso anyigba ma dzi, na wòtso tɔsisi la, eye mekplɔe va Kanaanyigba dzi. Mena eƒe dzidzimeviwo sɔ gbɔ to via Isak dzi.
But I took your ancestor Abraham from that land east of the Euphrates River, and I led him as he lived in various places in this land of Canaan, and I enabled him to have many descendants. First, I enabled him to have a son, Isaac.
4 Isak ƒe vi siwo menae la woe nye, Yakob kple Esau. Metsɔ anyigba si ƒo xlã Seir to la na Esau, ke Yakob kple viawo yi Egipte.
When Isaac grew up, I enabled him to have twin sons, Jacob and Esau. I enabled Esau to live in the hilly area in Seir region, but many years later Jacob and his sons and their families went down to live in Egypt.
5 “‘Meɖo Mose kple Aron ɖa be woahe dɔvɔ̃ dziŋɔwo va Egipte dzi, eye mekplɔ nye ameawo dzoe abe ablɔɖemewo ene.
“[Many years later], I sent Moses and his older brother Aaron to help your people, and I caused [the people of] Egypt to suffer very much because of what I did there. Then I enabled your ancestors to leave Egypt.
6 Ke esi woɖo Ƒu Dzĩ la nu la, Egiptetɔwo kplɔ wo ɖo kple tasiaɖamwo kple sɔwo,
When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army pursued them, some riding in chariots and others on horses, and they also arrived at the Red Sea.
7 ale Israelviwo do ɣli yɔm, eye mena viviti do ɖe woawo kple Egiptetɔwo dome. Mena atsiaƒu la ŋe dze Egiptetɔwo dzi, eye wonyrɔ ɖe tsi la me, miawo ŋutɔ miekpɔ nu si mewɔ. Le esia megbe la, Israelviwo nɔ gbegbe la ƒe geɖe.
Then [your ancestors] pleaded with me to help them. So he caused (darkness/a very dark cloud) to come between your ancestors and the Egyptian army, so that the Egyptian army could not see your ancestors. I separated the water in the Red Sea so that your ancestors could cross it, but when the Egyptian army tried to cross in the same way to pursue them, I caused the water to come back and cover them, and the Egyptian soldiers all drowned, as your ancestors watched and were amazed [IDM]. But after that, you lived in the desert for many years.
8 “‘Mlɔeba la, mekplɔ mi va Amoritɔwo ƒe anyigba dzi le Yɔdan tɔsisi la ƒe akpa kemɛ. Afi ma tɔwo wɔ aʋa kpli mi, ke metsrɔ̃ wo, eye metsɔ woƒe anyigba la na mi.
“Then I brought your [ancestors] to the area where the groups who were descendants of Amor lived, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I enabled you to defeat them [IDM]. I [enabled you to] destroy them so that you could live in their land [IDM].
9 Emegbe la, Fia Balak ho aʋa ɖe Israel ŋu, eye wòbia tso Balaam, Beor ƒe vi, si be wòaƒo fi ade mi,
Then, Zippor’s son Balak, the King of Moab, (decided that his army would fight against/opposed) the Israelis. He summoned Beor’s son Balaam and asked him to curse you.
10 ke nyemeɖo toe o, ke boŋ mena wòyra mi boŋ. Ale meɖe Israel tso eƒe asi me.
But I would not do what Balaam asked, so he (blessed/said that I would do great things for) you four times, and I did not enable the army of Moab to defeat you [IDM].
11 “‘Mietso Yɔdan tɔsisi la, eye mieva Yeriko, afi ma tɔwo wɔ aʋa kpli mi abe ale si Amoritɔwo, Perizitɔwo, Kanaantɔwo, Hititɔwo, Girgasitɔwo, Hivitɔwo kple Yebusitɔwo siaa wɔ ene. Wowɔ aʋa kpli mi ɖeka ɖeka, gake metsrɔ̃ wo katã.
“Then you all crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho prepared to fight against you, [and the armies of] the descendants of Amor, Periz, Canaan, Heth, Girgash, Hiv, and Jebus [all prepared to do the same thing] but I enabled you to defeat [IDM] them all.
12 Meɖo nudzodzoe teamewo ɖe mia ŋgɔ be woanya Amoritɔwo ƒe fia eveawo kple woƒe amewo. Menye miaƒe yiwo alo aŋutrɔwoe he dziɖuɖu vɛ na mi o!
I am the one who caused them to panic as you advanced and enabled you to defeat them, as I had enabled you to do earlier to the two kings of the groups who were descendants of Amor. You did not defeat them by using your own bows and arrows and swords; [it was I who defeated them].
13 Metsɔ anyigba si ŋu mieku kutri le o kple du siwo mietso o, du siwo me miele fifia la na mi. Metsɔ waingblewo kple amitiwo na mi hena miaƒe nuɖuɖu togbɔ be menye miawoe de woƒe agblewo o hã.’
So I gave you a land that you had not tilled/planted, and I gave you cities that you did not build. [Now] you live in those [cities] and you eat the grapes from the grapevines that you did not plant, and you eat olives from trees that you did not plant.’”
14 “Eya ta mivɔ̃ Yehowa, eye miasubɔe kple dzi blibo le nyateƒe me. Miɖe asi le mawu siwo mia tɔgbuiwo subɔ esime wonɔ Frat tɔsisi la godo kple Egipte la ŋu. Misubɔ Yehowa ɖeɖe ko.
[Then Joshua said to the people], “[Because of all that] Yahweh [has done for you], revere him, and serve/worship him very faithfully. Throw away the idols that your ancestors worshiped on the east/other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve only Yahweh.
15 Ke ne Yehowa subɔsubɔ medze mia ŋu o la, ekema mitia ame si miasubɔ la egbea! Ɖe miasubɔ mia tɔgbuiwo ƒe mawu siwo wosubɔ le Frat tɔsisi la godo loo alo Amoritɔwo ƒe mawuwo le anyigba sia dzia? Ke nye kple nye aƒe ya, míasubɔ Yehowa!”
But if you do not want to serve/worship Yahweh, you should decide today what [gods] you will serve/worship. You should decide whether you will serve/worship the gods that your ancestors who lived on the other/east side of the Euphrates River served, or whether you will serve/worship the gods that the descendants of Amor, who previously lived in the land where you are now living, [serve/worship]. But as for me and my family [MTY], we will serve/worship Yahweh!”
16 Ameawo ɖo eŋu be, “Míagblẽ Yehowa ɖi gbeɖe asubɔ mawu bubuwo o,
The Israeli people answered, “We will never quit [serving/worshiping] Yahweh! We would never [think of] [IDM] serving/worshiping other gods!
17 elabena Yehowa, míaƒe Mawu la ɖe mía fofowo tso kluvinyenye me le Egiptenyigba dzi. Eyae nye Mawu si wɔ nukunu gãwo le Israelviwo ŋkume esi míezɔ mɔ to gbedzi, eye wòɖe mí tso míaƒe futɔwo ƒe asi me esi míeto woƒe anyigbawo dzi.
It was our God, Yahweh, who brought our parents and grandparents up out of Egypt. [He rescued them] from that land where they were slaves. As he rescued them, they saw him perform great miracles. He protected them all the time when they were traveling. He protected them from all the people-groups through whose territory they traveled.
18 Yehowae nya Amoritɔwo kple dukɔ bubu siwo nɔ anyigba sia dzi. Ɛ̃, míetia Yehowa, elabena eya ɖeka koe nye Mawu.”
As our forefathers advanced, Yahweh expelled the descendants of Amor and the other people-groups who lived in this land. Yahweh is our God, so [we are saying that] we also will serve/worship him.”
19 Yosua ɖo eŋu na ameawo be, “Miate ŋu asubɔ Yehowa o, elabena Mawu le kɔkɔe, eye wòʋãa ŋu, matsɔ miaƒe aglãdzedze kple nu vɔ̃wo ake mi o.
Joshua replied to the people, “[I think that] you are not able to serve/worship Yahweh, because he is a holy God. He will not forgive your sinning and rebelling [against him]. He demands that you serve/worship only him [IDM].
20 Ne miegblẽ Yehowa ɖi, eye miesubɔ mawu bubuwo la, atso ɖe mia ŋu, eye wòatsrɔ̃ mi togbɔ be ekpɔ mia dzi ɣeyiɣi didi sia hã.”
He has been good to you [in the past], but if you turn away from him and serve/worship foreign/other gods, he will turn [against you] and he will cause you to experience disasters. He will punish [IDM] you severely!”
21 Ameawo ɖo eŋu be, “Gbeɖe, Yehowa ko miasubɔ.”
But the people replied to Joshua, “No, [we will not turn away from worshiping/serving Yahweh] We will serve/worship Yahweh!”
22 Yosua yi edzi be, “Miawo ŋutɔ miese nu si miegblɔ. Mielɔ̃ be yewoasubɔ Yehowaa?” Woɖo eŋu be, “Ɛ̃, míenye ɖasefowo.”
Then Joshua said, “You yourselves are saying that you have decided to serve/worship Yahweh.” They replied, “Yes, we are saying that.”
23 Yosua gblɔ be, “Enyo, ekema miɖe asi le mawu siwo katã le mia si fifia la ŋu, eye miaɖo to Aƒetɔ, Yehowa, Israel ƒe Mawu la.”
Then Joshua said, “Since [you have decided] that, you must throw away all the other gods/idols that you have among you. You must also promise that you will wholeheartedly give yourselves to Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [serve/worship].”
24 Ameawo ɖo eŋu na Yosua be, “Ɛ̃, míasubɔ, eye míaɖo to, Yehowa míaƒe Mawu ko!”
The people replied, “We will serve/worship Yahweh, our God, and obey him.”
25 Ale Yosua bla nu kple wo gbe ma gbe le Sekem, eye wòtsɔ wo de nubabla mavɔ me kple Mawu.
That day, Joshua established an agreement between the people and Yahweh. He wrote for them all the laws that they were required to obey.
26 Yosua ŋlɔ ameawo ƒe ŋuɖoɖo ɖe Mawu ƒe Segbalẽ la me, eye wòmli kpe gã aɖe da ɖe logoti si le Yehowa ƒe Agbadɔ la gbɔ la te abe ŋkuɖodzinu ene.
He wrote all those laws on a scroll. He called it ‘The laws of God’. Then he [told some men to] set up a large stone there at Shechem, under the [large] oak tree near the place where [they worshiped] Yahweh.
27 Eye Yosua gblɔ na ameawo katã be, “Kpe sia se nu siwo katã Yehowa gblɔ, eya ta anye ɖasefo atsi tsitre ɖe mia ŋu ne miewɔ Yehowa, miaƒe Mawu la ƒe gbe dzi o.”
He said to all the people, “Look! [It is as though] this stone has heard everything that Yahweh said to you [and that you promised Yahweh]. It will serve as a witness against you if you rebel against your God!”
28 Yosua ɖe asi le ameawo ŋu, eye ame sia ame yi eƒe anyigba dzi.
Then Joshua sent the people away, and all of them returned to their own areas/homes.
29 Le ɣeyiɣi kpui aɖe megbe ko la, Nun vi Yosua ku. Exɔ ƒe alafa ɖeka kple ewo.
Some time after that, Nun’s son Joshua, the faithful servant of Yahweh, died. He was 110 years old when he died.
30 Woɖii ɖe eya ŋutɔ ƒe anyigba dzi le Timnat Sera, le Efraim ƒe tonyigba la dzi, le Gaas toawo ƒe anyiehe lɔƒo.
The Israeli people buried his body on his own property in Timnath-Serah [town] town. It is north of Gaash Mountain in the hilly area of the tribe who were descendants of Ephraim.
31 Israel subɔ Yehowa le Yosua kple ametsitsi bubu siwo kpɔ nu wɔnuku siwo Yehowa wɔ na Israel teƒe la le woƒe agbenɔɣiwo.
The Israeli people served/worshiped Yahweh as long as Joshua was alive. After Joshua died, they continued serving/worshiping Yahweh while the elders who had experienced everything that Yahweh had done for the Israeli people were still alive.
32 Woɖi Yosef ƒe ƒu siwo Israel tsɔ vɛ tso Egiptenyigba dzi la ɖe Sekem, le anyigba si Yakob ƒle le Hamor ƒe viwo si la dzi. Teƒe sia le anyigba si woma na Yosef ƒe viwo la me.
Joseph’s bones, which the Israeli people had brought with them from Egypt, were also buried at Shechem. The people buried them in the piece of land that Jacob had bought long ago for 100 pieces of silver from Hamor, the father of Shechem. That piece of land was in the area that was given to the people who were descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons.
33 Eleazar, Aron ƒe vi hã ku, eye woɖii ɖe Efraim ƒe tonyigba dzi le Gibea, du si wotsɔ na via Finehas la me.
Eleazar, the Supreme Priest, the son of Aaron, also died. They buried his body at Gibeah, in the area that had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas, in the hilly area that belonged to the people who were descendants of Ephraim.
