2 Beresosɛm 16
1 Asa dii ade mfe aduasa asia no, Israelhene Baasa kɔtow hyɛɛ Yuda so, na ɔbɔɔ Rama ho ban, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a, obi ntumi nkɔ mu anaa ompue mfi ɔhene Asa Yudaman mu.
When Asa had been ruling [Judah] for almost 36 years, King Baasha of Israel went [with his army] to attack Judah. They [captured the town of] Ramah [north of Jerusalem] and started to build a wall around [it], in order to prevent any people from entering or leaving the area in Judah that was ruled by King Asa [because the only road into Judah from Israel went through Ramah].
2 Asa yii dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ fii Awurade Asɔredan adekoradan ne ahemfi hɔ. Ɔde kɔmaa Aramhene Ben-Hadad a na odi hene wɔ Damasko na ɔde saa nkra yi kaa ho:
So Asa told his workers to take all the silver and gold that was in the storerooms of the temple and in his own palace, and take and give it to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, who was ruling in Damascus. [He sent him a message, ] saying
3 “Ma yɛnyɛ apam a na ɛda wʼagya ne mʼagya ntam no foforo. Tie, mede akyɛde a ɛyɛ dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ resoma de abrɛ wo. Twa wo ne Israelhene Baasa apam no mu, sɛnea ɔmmfa ne nsa nka me.”
“I want there to be a peace treaty between me and you, like there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you [a lot of] silver and gold. So please cancel the treaty that you have made with Baasha, the king of Israel, in order that he will take his soldiers away from attacking mine, [because he will be afraid of your army].”
4 Ben-Hadad penee ɔhene Asa abisade no so, na ɔsomaa nʼasraafo, kɔtow hyɛɛ Israel so. Wodii Iyon, Dan, Abel-Maim ne Naftali aduan akorae nkuropɔn nyinaa so.
Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa [suggested]. He sent the commanders of his armies [with their soldiers] to attack some of the towns in Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah and all the cities in the area belonging to the tribe of Naphtali where supplies were kept.
5 Bere a Israelhene Baasa tee asɛm a asi no, ogyaee Rama bammɔ ho dwumadi no.
When Baasha heard about that, he [commanded his troops to] stop fortifying Ramah and doing other work there.
6 Enti ɔhene Asa frɛɛ ne mmarima a wɔwɔ Yuda nyinaa ma wɔbɛsoaa adansi abo ne nnua a na Baasa de rebɔ Rama ho ban no. Asa de saa nneɛma yi bɔɔ nkurow Geba ne Mispa ho ban.
Then King Asa gathered all the men of Judah, and they took away from Ramah all the stones and timber that Baasha’s men had been using [to build the wall around that town]. They took those materials to [the town of] Geba and [the city of] Mizpah [north of Jerusalem] and built walls around them.
7 Saa bere no mu no, ɔdehufo Hanani baa ɔhene Asa nkyɛn bɛka kyerɛɛ no se, “Esiane sɛ wode wo ho ato Aramhene so, na woagyaw Awurade wo Nyankopɔn nti, worentumi nni Aramhene asraafo no so.
At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on Yahweh our God, you missed your opportunity to destroy the army of the king of Syria.
8 Wonkae nea ɛbaa Etiopiafo no ne Libiafo ne wɔn asraafodɔm dodow ne wɔn nteaseɛnam ne wɔn apɔnkɔsotefo so no? Saa bere no, na wode wo ho to Awurade so, na ɔde wɔn nyinaa hyɛɛ wo nsa.
The huge armies from Ethiopia and Libya with all their chariots and soldiers [riding] on horses [were certainly very powerful. But] when you relied on Yahweh, he enabled your army to defeat them.
9 Awurade aniwa kyin fa asase so baabiara, sɛnea ɔbɛhyɛ wɔn a wɔde wɔn koma nyinaa to no so no den. Nkwaseasɛm bɛn na woadi yi! Efi nnɛ, wobɛkɔ ɔko.”
That happened because Yahweh sees [what is happening] all over the earth, and he strengthens those who completely trust him. You have done a very foolish thing, so from now on other armies will be fighting your army.”
10 Asa bo fuw Hanani yiye sɛ wabɛka saa asɛm yi akyerɛ no, na ɔkyeree no too afiase. Saa bere no ara na Asa afi ase rehyɛ ne nkurɔfo no bi so.
Asa was very angry with the prophet because of what the prophet had said. So he [commanded his officials to] put Hanani in prison. At that same time, he started to treat some of his people very cruelly.
11 Asa ahenni ho nsɛm nkae, fi mfiase kosi awiei no, wɔakyerɛw agu Yuda ne Israel ahemfo nhoma no mu.
All the things that Asa did while he was ruling, from the time he started to rule until he died, are written in the scroll containing the record of the [activities of the] kings of Judah and Israel.
12 Nʼadedi mfe aduasa akron so no, ɔyare huhuuhu bi yɛɛ Asa nan. Ɔyare no duu ne mpɔmpɔnso a ɛreyɛ akum no mpo no, wanhwehwɛ Awurade mmoa akyi kwan, na mmom, ɔhwehwɛɛ ayaresafo mmoa.
When Asa had been ruling for almost 39 years, he was afflicted with a disease in his feet. The disease was very severe, but in spite of that, he did not request help from Yahweh. Instead he sought help only from doctors.
13 Enti nʼadedi mfe aduanan baako so no, owui.
When he had been ruling for almost 40 years, he died.
14 Wosiee no ɔboda a ɔno ara twa maa nʼankasa ho no mu wɔ Dawid kurom. Wɔdedaa no mpa a wɔde nnuhuam ne sradehuam ho hua ahyɛ no ma, na nʼayiyɛ no mu no, nnipa no bɔɔ ogyatannaa kɛse bi de hyɛɛ no anuonyam.
He was buried in the tomb that his workers had made for him in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. They laid his corpse on a bed covered with spices and various perfumes that had been mixed together. They also lit a huge fire to honor him.
