2 Beresosɛm 36
1 Nnipa a wɔwɔ asase no so no sii Yosia babarima Yehoahas hene wɔ Yerusalem.
Then the people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and appointed him as the king in Jerusalem.
2 Bere a Yehoahas dii ade no, na wadi mfirihyia aduonu abiɛsa, nanso odii ade asram abiɛsa pɛ.
Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became the king, but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months.
3 Misraimhene Neko a na ɔhwehwɛ sonkahiri a ɛyɛ dwetɛ tɔn abiɛsa ne fa ne sikakɔkɔɔ kilogram aduasa anan afi Yuda no na otuu no ade so.
King Neco of Egypt [captured him and] prevented him from ruling any longer. He also forced the people of Judah to pay him a tax of almost four tons of silver and about 75 pounds of gold.
4 Misraimhene yii Yehoahas nuabarima Eliakim sɛ ɔhene foforo ma odii Yuda ne Yerusalem so, na ɔsesaa Eliakim din yɛɛ no Yehoiakim. Na Neko faa Yehoahas dommum de no kɔɔ Misraim.
The king of Egypt appointed Jehoahaz’s [younger] brother Eliakim to be the king of Judah. He changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. After Neco captured Jehoahaz, he took him to Egypt.
5 Yehoiakim dii ade no, na wadi mfirihyia aduonu anum, na odii hene wɔ Yerusalem mfirihyia dubaako. Nanso ɔyɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade, ne Nyankopɔn, ani so.
Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for 11 years. He did things that Yahweh his God considers to be evil.
6 Babiloniahene Nebukadnessar kɔtoaa no, kyeree no de nkɔnsɔnkɔnsɔn guu no de no kɔɔ Babilonia.
Then the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim’s army. They [captured Jehoiakim and] bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.
7 Nebukadnessar faa ademude a ɛwɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu bi, de koguu nʼahemfi wɔ Babilonia.
Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers also took valuable things from the temple; they took them to Babylon and put them in king [Nebuchadnezzar’s] palace there.
8 Yehoiakim ahenni ho nsɛm nkae, bɔne ahorow a ɔyɛe ne biribiara a wohu tiaa no no, wɔkyerɛw guu Israel ne Yuda Ahemfo Nhoma mu. Na ne babarima Yehoiakyin bedii nʼade sɛ ɔhene.
A record of the other things that happened while Jehoiakim was ruling, the detestable things that he did, including the evil things that people said that he did, is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah’. After [he was taken to Babylon], his son Jehoiachin became the king [of Judah].
9 Yehoiakyin bedii ade no, na wadi mfirihyia dunwɔtwe, nanso odii ade Yerusalem asram abiɛsa ne nnafua du pɛ. Yehoiakyin yɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade ani so.
Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months and ten days. He did things that Yahweh considers to be evil.
10 Afe a edi kan wɔ ɔsram a edi kan mu no, ɔhene Nebukadnessar frɛɛ Yehoiakyin sɛ ɔmmra Babilonia. Wɔfaa ademude bebree fii Awurade Asɔredan no mu de kɔɔ Babilonia saa bere no. Na Nebukadnessar yii Yehoiakyin wɔfa Sedekia, sɛ onni hene wɔ Yuda ne Yerusalem.
During the spring of the next year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent [soldiers] to bring him to Babylon. They also took to Babylon many valuable things from the temple of Yahweh. Then Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, to be the king of Judah.
11 Bere a Sedekia bedii ade no, na wadi mfirihyia aduonu baako, na odii ade wɔ Yerusalem mfirihyia dubaako.
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became the king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years.
12 Ɔyɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade, ne Nyankopɔn ani so, na wammrɛ ne ho ase wɔ odiyifo Yeremia a na ɔkasa ma Awurade no anim.
He did many things that Yahweh his God considered to be evil. And he did not humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah gave him a message from Yahweh [to warn him].
13 Ɔtew ɔhene Nebukadnessar anim atua wɔ bere a na waka ntam adi nsew wɔ Onyankopɔn din mu sɛ, obedi no nokware. Na Sedekia yɛ kyenkyenee na opirim ne koma na wampɛ sɛ ɔde ne ho bɛbata Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn ho.
He would not return to Yahweh, the God that the people of Israel [said that they worshiped]. Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had forced him to solemnly promise using God’s name [to be loyal to him]. Zedekiah became very stubborn.
14 Asɔfo no ntuanofo nyinaa ne ɔmanfo no kɔɔ so yɛɛ mmaratofo. Wɔyɛɛ abosonsomfo a wɔwɔ aman a atwa ahyia hɔ no nneyɛe no bi, na woguu Awurade Asɔredan a ɛwɔ Yerusalem no ho fi.
Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and also the people [of Judah] became more wicked again, doing all the detestable things that the people of the other nations did, and causing the temple in Jerusalem that Yahweh had caused to be holy to become [an] unacceptable [place to worship him].
15 Awurade, wɔn agyanom Nyankopɔn, somaa nʼadiyifo sɛ wɔnkɔbɔ wɔn kɔkɔ mpɛn bebree, efisɛ na ɔwɔ ahummɔbɔ ma ne nkurɔfo ne nʼAsɔredan no.
Yahweh, the God whom the ancestors [of the people of Judah belonged to/worshiped], gave messages to his prophets many times, and the prophets told those messages to the people of Judah. Yahweh did that because he pitied his people and did not want his temple to be destroyed.
16 Nanso nnipa no dii saa Onyankopɔn abɔfo no ho fɛw, amfa wɔn nsɛm no anyɛ hwee. Wodii adiyifo no ho fɛw ara kosii sɛ Awurade abufuwhyew turuwii a biribiara antumi annwudwo ano.
But the people continually made fun of God’s messengers. They despised God’s messages. They ridiculed his prophets, until finally God became extremely angry with his people, with the result that nothing could stop him [from destroying Judah].
17 Enti Awurade de Babiloniahene ba bɛko tiaa wɔn. Babiloniafo no kunkum Yuda mmea a wɔyɛ mmabun mpo, wɔtaa wɔn kɔɔ Asɔredan no mu a wɔannya ahummɔbɔ amma wɔn. Wokunkum mmofra ne mpanyin, mmarima ne mmea, ahoɔdenfo ne ayarefo. Onyankopɔn de wɔn nyinaa hyɛɛ Nebukadnessar nsa.
He incited the king of Babylonia to attack [Judah with his army]. They killed the young men with their swords, even in the temple. They did not spare/pity anyone, young men or young women or old people. God enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to kill all of them.
18 Ɔhene no san sesaw nneɛma no nyinaa, akɛse ne nketewa a na wɔde som wɔ Onyankopɔn Asɔredan mu, ne ademude a na ɛwɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu ne ahemfi hɔ nyinaa de kɔɔ Babilonia. Ɔde mmapɔmma nyinaa nso kɔe.
His soldiers took to Babylon all the things that were used in God’s temple—big things and little things, all the valuable things, and the valuable things that belonged to the king and his officials.
19 Wɔtoo Onyankopɔn Asɔredan no mu gya, bubuu Yerusalem afasu no, hyew ahemfi no nyinaa, sɛee biribiara a ɛwɔ bo no.
They burned the temple, and they broke down the wall surrounding Jerusalem. They burned all the palaces [in Jerusalem] and destroyed all the remaining valuable things there.
20 Nnipa kakra a wɔkae no, wɔsoaa wɔn kɔɔ Babilonia, ma wɔkɔyɛɛ ɔhene no ne ne mmabarima asomfo kosii sɛ Persia ahenni bedii tumi.
Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers took to Babylon the remaining people who had not been killed with their swords. Then those people became the king’s slaves and his son’s slaves, until the [army of the] king of Persia conquered [the army of Babylonia].
21 Enti Awurade asɛm a wɔfaa Yeremia so kae no baa mu. Afei, asase no nso nyaa nʼahomegye, ɛdaa mpan mfirihyia aduɔson sɛnea odiyifo no kae no.
[Moses had said that every seventh year the people must not plant their fields; they must allow the soil to rest. But the people had not done that. So after the army of Babylonia destroyed Judah, ] the soil was allowed to rest. That continued for 70 years, fulfilling what Yahweh told Jeremiah and what Jeremiah had predicted/prophesied would happen.
22 Persiahene Kores adedi afe a edi kan mu no, Awurade maa odiyifo Yeremia nkɔmhyɛ no baa mu. Ɔkaa Kores koma ma ɔkyerɛw bɔɔ no dawuru wɔ nʼahenni nyinaa mu se,
During the first year that Cyrus was the king of Persia, in order that what Yahweh told Jeremiah would happen would occur, Yahweh motivated Cyrus to write this and proclaim it throughout his kingdom:
23 “Sɛnea Persiahene Kores ka ni: “‘Awurade, ɔsorosoro Nyankopɔn de ahenni a ɛwɔ asase so nyinaa ama me. Wayi me sɛ minsi asɔredan mma no wɔ Yerusalem wɔ Yuda asase so. Mo a moyɛ Awurade nkurɔfo nyinaa, monsan nkɔ Israel nkodi saa dwuma yi. Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn nka mo ho.’”
“I, Cyrus, the king of Persia, declare that Yahweh, the God [who rules] in heaven, has enabled me to become the ruler of all the kingdoms of this world. And he wants me to [command that my workers] build a temple {a temple be built} for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of his people living among you people of Persia are allowed to go to Jerusalem. And I will pray that Yahweh will be with them.”
