1 Ahemfo 14
1 Saa bere no, Yeroboam babarima Abia yaree denneennen.
At that time, Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick.
2 Enti Yeroboam ka kyerɛɛ ne yere se, “Sesa wo ho, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a obiara renhu wo sɛ wone ɔhemmea no. Na kɔ odiyifo Ahiya, ɔbarima a ɔka kyerɛɛ me se medi hene no nkyɛn wɔ Silo.
Jeroboam said to his wife, “Disguise yourself, in order that no one will recognize that you are my wife. Then go to Shiloh [city], where the prophet Ahijah [lives]. He is the one who predicted/prophesied that I would become the king of Israel.
3 Fa brodo mua du, ɔfam ne ɛwo tumpan kɔkyɛ no, na bisa no nea ɛbɛba abarimaa no so.”
Take with you ten [loaves of] bread and some small flat cakes, and a jar of honey, [and give them] to him. [Tell him about] our son, [and] he will tell you what will happen to him.”
4 Na Yeroboam yere no kɔɔ Ahiya fi wɔ Silo. Saa bere no na wabɔ akwakoraa a onhu ade.
So his wife went to Shiloh, to Ahijah’s house. Ahijah was unable to see, because he was very old and had become blind.
5 Nanso na Awurade aka akyerɛ Ahiya se, “Yeroboam yere bɛba ha, na ɔbɛhyɛ da ayɛ ne ho sɛ obi foforo. Obebisa wo ne babarima no ho asɛm, efisɛ ɔyare denneennen. Sɛ ɛba saa a, fa mmuae a mede bɛma wo no ma no.”
But [before she got there, ] Yahweh told Ahijah that Jeroboam’s wife was coming to inquire about their son, who was very sick. And Yahweh told Ahijah what he should tell her. When she came to him, she pretended to be another woman.
6 Na Ahiya tee ne nan ase wɔ pon ano no, ɔfrɛe se, “Yeroboam yere, bra mu! Adɛn nti na woahyɛ da ayɛ wo ho sɛ obi foforo?” Na ɔka kyerɛɛ no se, “Mewɔ asɛmmɔne ka kyerɛ wo.
But when Ahijah heard her footsteps as she entered the doorway, he said to her, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! (Why do you pretend that you are someone else?/It will not help you to pretend that you are someone else.) [RHQ] [Yahweh] has given me bad news to tell you.
7 Fa saa nkra yi a efi Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn, nkyɛn kɔma wo kunu Yeroboam se, ‘Mepagyaw wo fi mpapahwekwa mu, de wo besii me nkurɔfo Israel so hene.
Go and tell Jeroboam that this is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says to you: ‘I chose you from among the common people and enabled you to become the king of my Israeli people.
8 Mituu ahemman no ase fii Dawid fi, de maa wo. Nanso woammu wo bra te sɛ me somfo Dawid a odii mʼahyɛde so a ɔde ne koma nyinaa dii mʼakyi, na daa ɔyɛɛ biribiara a mepɛ sɛ ɔyɛ no.
I took [most of] the kingdom of Israel away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you have not been like David, who served me [very well]. He obeyed all my commandments very sincerely, doing only things that I considered to be right.
9 Bɔne a woayɛ no dɔɔso sen wɔn a wɔtenaa ase ansa na wɔrewo wo no. Woayɛ anyame afoforo ma ɛnam so ama me bo afuw wo, wo sikakɔkɔɔ nantwi mma no nti. Na esiane sɛ woadan wʼakyi akyerɛ me nti,
But you have done more evil things/deeds than all those [who ruled] before you. You have rejected me, and you have caused me to become very angry by making metal images of other gods so that you [and others] could worship them.
10 mede amanehunu bɛba wo fi ahenni nnidiso so, na mekum wo mmabarima nyinaa, akoa ne nea odi ne ho so nso. Mɛhyew wʼahenni nnidiso no ase, sɛnea obi hyew wura ma ase tu koraa no.
‘So, I am going to cause terrible things to happen to your family. I will cause all your male descendants to die, young ones and old ones. I will completely get rid of your family [MTY]. I will get rid of your family [MTY] just like a man completely burns dung [to cook his food].
11 Me, Awurade, meka ntam se, wo fifo a wobewuwu wɔ kurow no mu no, akraman na wɔbɛwe wɔn nam, na wɔn a wobewuwu wuram no nso, apete na wɔbɛsosɔw wɔn nam.’”
[The corpses of] any members of your family who die in cities will be eaten by dogs. And [the corpses of] any members of your family who die in the open fields will be eaten by vultures. [This will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said [that it will happen].’
12 Na Ahiya ka kyerɛɛ Yeroboam yere se, “Kɔ fie, na sɛ wuwura kurow no mu ara pɛ a, abofra no bewu.
So go back home. And as soon as you enter the city, your son will die.
13 Na Israel nyinaa besu no, na wɔasie no. Ɔno nko ne onipa a ofi mo fi a wobesie no yiye, na saa abofra no nko na Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn, hu no sɛ ade pa wɔ Yeroboam fifo nyinaa mu.
All the Israeli people will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one of Jeroboam’s family who will be buried [properly], because he is the only one of Jeroboam’s family with whom Yahweh is pleased.
14 Na Awurade bɛpagyaw ne hene a obedi Israel so. Ɔno na ɔbɛtɔre Yeroboam fifo ase. Saa asɛm no besi nnɛ yi ara, saa dɔnhwerew yi ara mu.
Furthermore, Yahweh will appoint for himself a king to rule over Israel who will get rid of Jeroboam’s descendants. And that [will start to happen] today!
15 Na Awurade bɛwosow Israel te sɛ sibiri a ehinhim wɔ asuwa ani. Obetutu Israelfo ase afi saa asase pa a ɔde maa wɔn agyanom no so. Na ɔbɛbɔ wɔn apete, atra Asubɔnten Eufrate, efisɛ wɔnam som a wɔsom Asera nnua no so ahyɛ Awurade abufuw.
Yahweh will punish the people of Israel; he will shake them like [the wind] shakes the reeds [that grow in] a stream. He will expel the Israeli people from this good land that he gave to our ancestors. He will scatter them into countries east of [the Euphrates] River, because they have caused him to become very angry by [worshiping statues of] the goddess Asherah.
16 Ɔbɛto Israel asaworam, efisɛ Yeroboam yɛɛ bɔne, nam so maa Israel nyinaa ne no yɛɛ bɔne.”
Yahweh will abandon the Israeli people because of the sins that Jeroboam committed, sins which led the Israeli people to commit them.”
17 Na Yeroboam yere san kɔɔ Tirsa. Na bere a owuraa ne fi no, abofra no wui.
Jeroboam’s wife returned home to Tirzah [city, the new capital of Israel]. And just as she entered her house, her son died.
18 Bere a Israelfo siee no no, wosuu no sɛnea Awurade nam odiyifo Ahiya so hyɛe no.
All the Israeli people mourned for him and buried him, which is what Yahweh had told his servant, the prophet Ahijah, would happen.
19 Yeroboam ahenni ho nsɛm nkae, nʼakodi nyinaa ne ɔkwan a ɔfaa so buu ɔman no nyinaa no, wɔakyerɛw agu Israel Ahemfo Abakɔsɛm Nhoma Mu.
Everything else that Jeroboam did, and the record of wars that his [army] fought, and how he ruled, is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.
20 Yeroboam dii ade wɔ Israel mfe aduonu abien. Owui no, ne babarima Nadab na odii nʼade sɛ ɔhene.
Jeroboam ruled for 22 years; then he died [EUP] and his son Nadab became king.
21 Na Salomo babarima Rehoboam na na odi hene wɔ Yuda. Bere a odii ade no, na wadi mfe aduanan baako, na odii ade mfe dunson wɔ Yerusalem, kurow a na Awurade ayi wɔ Israel mmusuakuw no nyinaa mu, sɛ ɔde rehyɛ ne din anuonyam no. Na Rehoboam ne na din de Naama a ɔyɛ Amonni.
Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled Judah. He was 41 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled for 17 years. He ruled in Jerusalem, which is the city that Yahweh chose out of all the tribes of Israel to be the place where he should be worshiped [MTY]. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah; she was from the Ammon people-group.
22 Bere a na Rehoboam di ade no, nnipa a wɔwɔ Yuda no yɛɛ bɔne Awurade anim, maa ne bo fuw wɔ wɔn bɔne no ho. Na saa bɔne no sen nea wɔn agyanom no yɛe mpo.
The people of Judah did things that Yahweh considered to be evil. They caused him to become angry because they committed more sins than their ancestors had committed: They worshiped many other gods instead of worshiping only Yahweh.
23 Wosisii abosomfi, gyinaa dannua a wɔatew ho ne Asera nnua wɔ bepɔw biara so ne dutan frɔmfrɔm biara ase.
They built places to worship those gods; on high hills, and under big trees they set up [stone] pillars to worship the goddess Asherah.
24 Mpo, na abosomfi mmarima nguamanfo wɔ asase no so mmaa nyinaa. Nnipa no suasuaa akyiwade ahorow a amanaman a wɔsom abosom no yɛe nti a Awurade pam wɔn fii asase no so maa Israelfo no.
Also, there were male prostitutes at these places of worship. The Israeli people did the same disgraceful things that had been done by the people whom Yahweh had expelled while the Israelis were advancing through the land.
25 Rehoboam dii ade ne mfe anum so no, Misraimhene Sisak bɛtow hyɛɛ Yerusalem so.
When Rehoboam had been ruling for almost five years, King Shishak of Egypt came [with his army] to attack Jerusalem.
26 Ɔbɔ wuraa Awurade Asɔredan no mu ne ahemfi hɔ baabiara, wiaa biribiara a sikakɔkɔɔ akyɛm a Salomo yɛe no ka ho.
They took away all the valuable things in the temple and in the king’s palace, including the gold shields that Solomon’s [workers] had made.
27 Akyiri no, Rehoboam yɛɛ kɔbere akyɛm de sii anan, na ɔde hyɛɛ ahemfi awɛmfo no nsa sɛ wɔnhwɛ so.
King Rehoboam’s [workers] made bronze shields to replace them and entrusted them to officers who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace.
28 Bere biara a ɔhene no kɔ Awurade Asɔredan mu hɔ no, awɛmfo no soa kɔ hɔ bi, na sɛ owie na ɔreba a, wɔsan de begu awɛmfo dan no mu.
Every time that the king went into the temple, those guards carried those shields; and [when he left the temple] they returned the shields to the storeroom.
29 Na Rehoboam ahenni ho nsɛm nkae no ne dwuma a odii no de, wɔankyerɛw ne nyinaa wɔ Yuda Ahemfo Abakɔsɛm Nhoma no mu ana?
Everything else that Rehoboam did is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
30 Daa na ɔko da Rehoboam ne Yeroboam ntam.
There were wars continually between [the armies of] Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
31 Bere a Rehoboam wui no, wosiee no wɔ nʼagyanom korabea wɔ Dawid kurom. Na ne na din de Naama a ɔyɛ Amonnibea. Na ne babarima a ne din de Abiyam na odii nʼade sɛ ɔhene.
Then Rehoboam died [EUP], and he was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors were buried. Then his son Abijah became the king.
