1 Beresosɛm 19
1 Eyinom akyi no, Amonhene Nahas wui, na ne babarima Hanun bedii ade.
Some time later, Nahash, the king of the Ammon people-group, died. Then his son Hanun became their king.
2 Dawid susuw ho se, “Mɛda ayamye adi akyerɛ Nahas ba Hanun, efisɛ nʼagya daa ayamye adi kyerɛɛ me.” Ɛno nti, Dawid tuu abɔfo ma wɔkɔɔ Hanun nkyɛn, kɔmaa no hyɛden wɔ nʼagya wu no ho. Bere a abɔfo no duu Amon asase so no,
[When] David [heard about that, he] thought [to himself], “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to his son.” So David sent some officials there, to tell Hanun that he was sorry to hear that Hanun’s father [had died]. But when David’s officials came to Hanun in the land where the Ammon people-group lived,
3 Hanun asahene bisaa no se, “Enti wugye di ampa ara sɛ, saa mmarima yi baa sɛ wɔrebɛhyɛ wʼagya anuonyam? Dabi! Dawid asoma wɔn sɛ wɔmmɛsra asase yi, na wɔnam so ako agye.”
the leaders of the Ammon people-group said to Hanun, “Do you think that it is really to honor your father that King David is sending these men to say that he is sorry that your father died? [We think that] his men have come to (look around/spy) our city in order to determine how his [army] can conquer us.”
4 Enti Hanun kyeree Dawid abɔfo no, yii wɔn abogyesɛ, twitwaa wɔn ntade ano wɔ wɔn to ase, ma wɔsan kɔe.
Hanun [believed what they said, so he commanded some soldiers to] seize the officials whom David had sent, and shave off their beards, and [insult them by] cutting off the lower part of their robes, and then send them away. [So his soldiers did that].
5 Bere a Dawid tee asɛm no, otuu abɔfo kɔɔ asomafo no nkyɛn kɔkae se, “Montena Yeriko mma mo abogyesɛ no mfuw ansa na moaba.” Efisɛ na wɔn ho ayɛ fɛre yiye.
The officials were greatly humiliated/ashamed. When David found out about what had happened to his officials, he sent some messengers to them to tell them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown again, and then return home.”
6 Afei, Amonfo huu abufuwtraso a wɔahyɛ Dawid no, Hanun ne Amonfo soma ma wɔde dwetɛ nkaribo ani tɔn aduasa awotwe kogyee nteaseɛnam ne asraafodɔm fii Aram-naharaim, Aram-maaka ne Soba.
Then the [leaders of the] Ammon people-group realized that they had greatly insulted [IDM] David. So Hanun and some of his officials sent about (37,000 pounds/34,000 kg.) of silver to hire chariots and chariot-drivers from [the] Aram-Naharaim, Aram-Maacah and Zobah [regions of Syria northeast of Israel].
7 Wɔsan pɛɛ nteaseɛnam mpem aduasa abien, na wonyaa akyigyina fii Maakahene ne nʼakofo nkyɛn. Saa asraafodɔm yi kyeree nsraban wɔ Medeba, ɛhɔ na Amon asraafodɔm a Hanun nya fii nʼankasa nkurow so no kɔkaa wɔn ho.
They hired 32,000 chariots and chariot-drivers, as well as the king of [the] Maacah [region] and his army. They came and set up their tents near Medeba [town in Moab region]. The soldiers from the Ammon people-group also marched out and (stood in their positions/arranged themselves for battle) [at the entrance to their capital city, Rabbah].
8 Bere a Dawid tee saa no, ɔsomaa Yoab ne nʼakofo sɛ wɔne wɔn nkɔko.
When David heard about that, he sent Joab and all his army.
9 Amonfo asraafo no begyinagyinaa kuropɔn no pon ano, na ahemfo a wɔaka no nso gyinagyinaa sare no so.
The soldiers of the Ammon people-group came out of their city and lined up for battle at the entrance to [their capital city, Rabbah]. Meanwhile, the other kings who had come [with their armies] stood in their positions in the open fields.
10 Bere a Yoab huu sɛ ɛsɛ sɛ ɔko ha ne ha no, ɔpaw nʼakofodɔm no mu akofo a wonim ako yiye no. Ɔde wɔn hyɛɛ nʼankasa ase, dii wɔn anim kɔko tiaa Aramfo no a wogyinagyina sare so no.
Joab saw that there were groups of enemy soldiers in front of his troops and behind his troops. So he selected some of the best Israeli troops and put them in positions to fight against the soldiers of Syria.
11 Ogyaw asraafodɔm a wɔaka no maa ne nuabarima Abisai sɛ ɔnkɔtow nhyɛ Amonfo no so.
He appointed his [older] brother Abishai to be the commander of his other soldiers and he told them to (stand in their positions/arrange themselves) in front of [the army of] the Ammon people-group.
12 Na Yoab ka kyerɛɛ ne nuabarima no se, “Sɛ Aramfo no yɛ den ma me dodo a, bra na bɛboa me.” Yoab toaa so se, “Sɛ Amonfo no yɛ den dodo ma wo a, mɛba abɛboa wo.
Joab said to them, “If the soldiers from Syria are too strong for us to defeat them, then your soldiers must come and help us. But if the soldiers from the Ammon people-group are too strong for you to defeat them, then my soldiers will come and help your men.
13 Hyɛ wo ho den. Ma yɛmfa akokoduru nko nnye yɛn nkurɔfo ne yɛn Onyankopɔn nkurow. Awurade bɛyɛ nea eye wɔ nʼani so.”
We must be strong/courageous, and fight hard to [defend] our people and our cities (that belong to/where we worship) our God. I will pray that Yahweh will do what he considers to be good.”
14 Bere a Yoab ne nʼakofo no tow hyɛɛ Aramfo no so no, wofii ase guanee.
So Joab and his troops [advanced to] fight the army of Syria, and the soldiers from Syria ran away from them.
15 Na Amonfo huu sɛ Aramfo no reguan no, woguan fi Abisai anim kɔɔ kuropɔn no mu. Afei, Yoab san kɔɔ Yerusalem.
And when the soldiers of the Ammon people-group saw that the soldiers from Syria were running away, they also started to run away from Abishai and his army, and they retreated back inside the city. So Joab [and his army] returned to Jerusalem.
16 Aramfo no huu sɛ ɛnyɛ wɔn afɛ ne Israelfo no nti, wɔfrɛɛ Aram asraafodɔm foforo fii Asubɔnten Eufrate ho sɛ wɔmmɛboa. Saa asraafodɔm a wɔhyɛ Sofak a ɔyɛ Hadadeser asraafodɔm nyinaa so sahene ase no bae.
After [the leaders of the army of] Syria realized that they had been defeated by [the army of] Israel, they sent messengers to [another part of Syria on] the east side of the [Euphrates] river, and brought troops from there [to the battle area], with Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.
17 Bere a Dawid tee asɛm a asi no, ɔboaboaa Israel nyinaa ano, de wɔn twaa Asubɔnten Yordan, de nʼakofo no gyinagyinaa wɔn mpasua so. Afei, ɔne atamfo no de ɔko hyehyɛɛ so, ma wɔko tiaa no.
When David heard about that, he gathered all the Israeli soldiers, and they crossed the Jordan [River]. They advanced and took their battle positions to attack the army of Syria.
18 Ɛha nso, Aramfo no guan fii Israelfo no anim, na Dawid asraafo no kunkum nteaseɛnamkafo mpem ason ne anammɔnmufo asraafo mpem aduanan a Sofak a ɔyɛ wɔn so sahene no ka ho.
But the army of Syria ran away from the soldiers of Israel. However, David’s soldiers killed 7,000 of their chariot-drivers and 40,000 other soldiers. They also killed Shophach, their army commander.
19 Hadadeser asomfo huu sɛ Israel adi wɔn so nkonim no, wɔmaa wɔn nsa so, maa Dawid faa wɔn sɛ ne nkoa. Ɛno akyi no, Aramfo ampɛ sɛ wɔbɛboa Amonfo bio.
When the kings who had been ruled by Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by the Israeli army, they made peace with David, and agreed to allow him to rule them. So the rulers of Syria did not want to help the rulers of the Ammon people-group any more.
