2 Ahemfo 23
1 Afei, ɔhene no frɛɛ Yuda ne Yerusalem mpanyimfo nyinaa.
Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [of the other places in] Judah.
2 Na ɔhene no ne Yuda ne Yerusalem manfo ne asɔfo ne adiyifo a efi akumaa so kosi ɔkɛse so, foro kɔɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu. Ɛhɔ na ɔhene no kenkan Apam Nhoma a wɔahu wɔ Awurade Asɔredan mu hɔ no nyinaa kyerɛɛ wɔn.
They went together to the temple, along with the priests and the prophets, and many other [HYP] people, from the most important people to the least important people. And while they listened, the king read to them all of the laws that Moses had written. He read from the scroll that had been found in the temple.
3 Ɔhene no tenaa beae bi a ɛkyerɛ ne tumi wɔ afadum no ho, hyɛɛ apam no mu den bio wɔ Awurade anim. Ɔhyɛɛ bɔ se, ofi ne koma ne ne kra nyinaa mu bedi Awurade mmara nsɛm, ahyɛde ne mmara nyinaa so. Ɔfaa saa ɔkwan yi so sii apam no mu nhyehyɛe ahorow a na wɔakyerɛw wɔ nhoma no mu no nyinaa so dua, maa nnipa no nyinaa hyɛɛ bɔ sɛ wobedi so.
Then the king stood next to the pillar [where the kings stood when they made important announcements], and while Yahweh was listening, he repeated his promise to sincerely obey [DOU] all of Yahweh’s commands and regulations [DOU]. He also promised to (fulfill the conditions of/do what was written in) the agreement he made with Yahweh. And all the people also promised to obey the agreement.
4 Afei, ɔhene hyɛɛ ɔsɔfopanyin Hilkia ne asɔfo akunini ne asɔredan sohwɛfo no nyinaa sɛ, wonyiyi asɔredan no mu nneɛma a na wɔde som Baal ne Asera ne wim atumfo no nyinaa mfi hɔ. Ɔhene no ma wɔhyew ne nyinaa wɔ Kidron bon a ɛwɔ Yerusalem mfikyiri no mu, soaa ne nsõ de kɔɔ Bet-El.
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the Supreme Priest and all the other priests who assisted him and the men who guarded the entrance to the temple to bring out from the temple all the items that people had been using to worship Baal, the goddess Asherah, and the stars. [After they carried them out, ] they burned all those things outside the city near the Kidron Valley. Then they took all the ashes to Bethel, [because that city was already considered to be desecrated/unholy].
5 Ɔpam abosom akɔmfo a Yuda ahemfo a wodii kan no yii wɔn no nyinaa, efisɛ na wɔhyew nnuhuam wɔ Yuda abosomfi nyinaa mu a mpo, na ɛreyɛ akodu Yerusalem kurom. Wɔhyew nnuhuam maa Baal ne owia, ɔsram ne nsoromma ne wim atumfo.
There were many pagan priests that the previous kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the altars on the tops of hills in Judah. They had been offering sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. The king stopped them from doing those things.
6 Ɔhene no tuu Asera dua no fii Awurade asɔredan mu, de kɔɔ Yerusalem mfikyiri wɔ Kidron bon mu hɔ kɔhyew no. Afei, ɔyam dua no muhumuhu, kɔtow ne mfutuma no guu amusiei.
He [commanded that] the statue of the goddess Asherah [be] taken out of the temple. Then they took it outside Jerusalem, down to the Kidron Brook, and burned it. Then they pounded the ashes to powder and scattered that over the graves in the public cemetery.
7 Odwiriw nsɔree so nguamanfo adan a na ɛwɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu no, faako a na mmea no nwen nkatahotam, de kata Asera dua no ho no nyinaa gui.
He also destroyed the rooms in the temple where the temple male prostitutes lived. That was where women wove robes that were used to worship the goddess Asherah.
8 Yosia san de Awurade asɔfo no a na wɔtete Yuda nkurow afoforo so no nyinaa baa Yerusalem. Efi Geba kosi Beer-Seba, ɔsɛee ɛhɔ abosonnan no nyinaa. Saa beae no na na wɔhyew nnuhuam no. Obubuu abosonnan a ɛwɔ Yosua a na ɔyɛ Yerusalem amrado no pon ano no. Sɛ obi rewura kuropɔn no mu a obehu saa pon no wɔ kuropɔn pon no benkum so.
Josiah also brought [to Jerusalem] all the priests who were offering sacrifices in the other cities in Judah. He also desecrated the places on the tops of hills where the priests had burned incense [to honor idols], from Geba [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south]. Those priests were not allowed to offer sacrifices in the temple, but they [were allowed to] eat the unleavened bread that the priests [who worked in the temple] ate. He also [commanded that] the altars that were dedicated to the goat demons near the gate built by Joshua, the mayor of Jerusalem, [be] destroyed. Those altars were at the left of the main gate into the city.
9 Asɔfo a na wɔsom wɔ abosonnan no mu no, na wɔmma wɔn kwan mma wɔnsom wɔ Awurade afɔremuka a ɛwɔ Yerusalem no so, nanso na wɔma wɔne asɔfo a aka no di brodo a mmɔkaw nni mu no.
10 Afei, ɔhene no sɛee Tofet afɔremuka a na ɛwɔ Ben-Hinom bon no mu no nti, na obiara ntumi mfa ne babarima anaa ne babea mmɔ afɔre wɔ ogya mu wɔ so sɛ afɔrebɔde a wɔde ma Molek bio.
Josiah also desecrated the place named Topheth, in the Hinnom Valley, in order that no one could offer his son or daughter there to be completely burned for a sacrifice to [the god] Molech.
11 Otutuu apɔnkɔ sɛso a wɔagu a esisi Awurade Asɔredan kwan no ano a Yuda ahemfo too din maa owia no nyinaa fii hɔ. Na ne nyinaa wowɔ adiwo a ɛbɛn piamni bi a wɔfrɛ no Natan-Malek dan ho. Yosia hyew nteaseɛnam a na wɔato din ama owia no.
He also removed the horses that the [previous] kings of Judah had dedicated to worshiping the sun, and he burned the chariots that were used in that worship. Those horses and chariots were kept in the courtyard outside the temple, near the entrance to the temple, and near the room where [one of Josiah’s] officials, whose name was Nathan-Melech, lived.
12 Yosia bubuu afɔremuka a Yuda ahemfo sisii wɔ ahemfi no atifi wɔ Ahas dan apampam no nyinaa. Ɔhene no bubuu afɔremuka a Manase sisii wɔ Awurade Asɔredan no adiwo abien hɔ no nyinaa gui. Odwiriw no pasapasa, too ne afabo no petee Kidron bon no mu.
Josiah also commanded his servants to tear down the altars that the previous kings of Judah had built on the roof of the palace, above the room where King Ahaz had stayed. They also tore down the altars that had been built by King Manasseh in the two courtyards outside the temple. He commanded that they be smashed to pieces and thrown down into the Kidron Valley.
13 Ɔhene no san guu abosonnan a ɛwɔ Yerusalem apuei fam no ne nea ɛwɔ Ɔsɛe Bepɔw no anafo fam no. Saa beae no na Israelhene Salomo sisii abosonnan maa Astoret, a ɛyɛ Sidonfo bosom bɔne, ne Kemos, Moabfo bosom bɔne, ne Molek, Amonfo bosom bɔne.
He also commanded that the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of Olive Tree Hill, be desecrated. Solomon had built them for the worship of the disgusting idols—the [statue of the goddess] Astarte [worshiped by the people in] Sidon [city], Chemosh the god of the Moab people-group, and Molech the god of the Ammon people-group.
14 Yosia dwiriw afadum kronkron no nyinaa gui, bubuu Asera nnua no. Ɔde nnipa nnompe guguu ne nyinaa so.
They also broke into pieces the stone pillars that the Israeli people worshiped, and cut down the [pillars that honored the goddess] Asherah, and they scattered the ground there with human bones [to desecrate it].
15 Ɔhene no san bubuu afɔremuka a ɛwɔ Bet-El abosonnan a Nebat babarima Yeroboam yɛe bere a odii Israel anim, de wɔn kɔɔ bɔne mu no. Yosia yam abo no, ma ɛdan mfutuma, hyew Asera dua no.
Furthermore, he commanded them to tear down the place of worship at Bethel which had been built by King Jeroboam, the king who persuaded the people of Israel to sin. They tore down the altar. Then they broke its stones into pieces and pounded them to become powder. They also burned the statue [of the goddess] Asherah.
16 Bere a Yosia retoto nʼani no, ohuu nna pii wɔ koko no nkyɛn mu. Ɔhyɛɛ sɛ wontu nnompe no, na ɔhyew ne nyinaa wɔ afɔremuka a ɛwɔ Bet-El no so, de guu afɔremuka no ho fi. Eyi sii sɛnea Awurade nam Onyankopɔn nipa so hyɛe, bere a Yeroboam kogyinaa afɔremuka no ho wɔ afahyɛ da no. Afei Yosia dan ne ho hwɛɛ Onyankopɔn nipa a ɔhyɛɛ eyinom nyinaa ho nkɔm no da.
Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill. He commanded his men to take the bones out of those tombs and burn them on the altar. By doing that, he desecrated the altar. That was what a prophet had predicted many years before when Jeroboam was standing close to that altar at a festival. Then Josiah looked up and saw the tomb of the prophet who had predicted that.
17 Yosia bisae se, “Nkaedum bɛn na mihu no?” Na nnipa a wɔwɔ kurow no mu no ka kyerɛɛ no se, “Ɛyɛ Onyankopɔn nipa no a ofi Yuda a ɔhyɛɛ nkɔm faa dwuma a woadi mprempren wɔ afɔremuka a ɛwɔ Bet-El ho no ɔboda.”
Josiah asked, “Whose tomb is that?” The people of Bethel replied, “It is the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah and predicted that these things that you have just now done to this altar would happen.”
18 Yosia buae se, “Momma ɛnwɔ hɔ. Obiara mmfa ne nsa nka ne nnompe no.” Ɛno nti, wɔanhyew ɔne odiyifo akwakoraa a ofi Samaria no nnompe.
Josiah replied, “Allow his tomb to remain as it is. Do not remove the prophet’s bones from the tomb.” So the people did not remove those bones, or the bones of the other prophet, the one who had come from Samaria.
19 Na Yosia bubuu abosonnan no a ɛwɔ Samaria no, sɛnea ɔyɛɛ wɔ Bet-El no. Israel ahemfo ahorow bi na wosisi de hyɛɛ Awurade abufuw.
In every city in Israel, at Josiah’s command, they tore down the shrines that had been built by the previous kings of Israel, which had caused Yahweh to become very angry. He did to all those shrines/altars the same thing that he had done to the altars at Bethel.
20 Okunkum nsɔree so akɔmfo no wɔ wɔn ankasa afɔremuka so, na ɔhyew nnipa nnompe wɔ afɔremuka ahorow no so, de guu ho fi. Akyiri no, ɔsan kɔɔ Yerusalem.
He ordered that all the priests who offered sacrifices on the altars on the tops of hills must be killed on those altars. Then he burned human bones on every one of those altars [to desecrate them]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
21 Ɔhene Yosia hyɛɛ nnipa no nyinaa se, “Ɛsɛ sɛ mudi Twam Afahyɛ ma Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn, sɛnea wɔakyerɛw wɔ Apam Nhoma no mu no.”
Then the king commanded all the people to celebrate the Passover Festival to honor Yahweh their God, which was written in the law of Moses that they should do [every year].
22 Efi bere a atemmufo dii Israel so mfe bebree a atwa mu wɔ Israel ne Yuda ahemfo so no, wonnii Twam Afahyɛ no bi saa da.
During all the years that leaders ruled Israel and during all the years that kings had ruled Israel and Judah, they had not celebrated that festival.
23 Bere a ɔhene Yosia dii mfe dunwɔtwe wɔ akongua so no na wodii saa Twam Afahyɛ yi wɔ Yerusalem maa Awurade.
But now, after Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, to [honor] Yahweh they celebrated the Passover Festival in Jerusalem.
24 Yosia tɔree samanfrɛfo ne adunsifo ne afi mu anyame ne ahonisom biara ase wɔ Yerusalem ne Yuda asase so baabiara. Ɔyɛɛ saa de dii mmara a wɔakyerɛw wɔ nhoma mmobɔwee a ɔsɔfo Hilkia kohuu wɔ Awurade Asɔredan mu no so.
Furthermore, Josiah got rid of all the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah who practiced sorcery and those who requested the spirits of dead people [to tell them what they should do]. He also removed from Jerusalem and from the other places in Judah all the household idols and all the other idols and abominable things. He did those things in order to obey what had been written in the scroll that Hilkiah had found in the temple.
25 Ɔhene biara mmae a ɔte sɛ Yosia a ɔde ne koma, ne kra ne nʼahoɔden ama Awurade na ɔnam so adi Mose mmara nyinaa so. Na ɔhene biara nso mmae a ɔte sɛ ɔno.
Josiah was totally devoted to Yahweh. There had never been [in Judah or Israel] a king like him. He obeyed all the laws of Moses. And there has never since then been a king like Josiah.
26 Nanso eyi nyinaa akyi no, Awurade abufuw no dɛw tiaa Yuda, esiane bɔne akɛse a Ɔhene Manase yɛe no. Ɛno nti, wanyi nʼabufuwhyew no amfi wɔn so.
But Yahweh had become extremely angry with the people of Judah because of all the things that [King] Manasseh had done to infuriate him, and he continued to be very angry.
27 Awurade kae se, “Mɛsɛe Yuda, sɛnea mesɛee Israel no. Mɛpam nnipa no afi mʼanim, na mapo me kuropɔn Yerusalem ne Asɔredan a anka ɛsɛ sɛ wɔhyɛ me din anuonyam wɔ mu no.”
He said, “I will do to Judah what I have done to Israel. I will banish the people of Judah, with the result that they will never enter my presence again. And I will reject Jerusalem, the city that I chose [to belong to me], and I will abandon the temple, the place where I said that I [MTY] should be worshiped.”
28 Yosia ahenni ho asɛm nkae ne dwuma a odii nyinaa no, wɔankyerɛw angu Yuda Ahemfo Abakɔsɛm Nhoma no mu ana?
[If you want to know more about] [RHQ] all the other things that Josiah did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
29 Bere a Yosia di hene no, Misraimhene Farao Neko kɔɔ Asubɔnten Eufrate ho kɔboaa Asiriahene. Ɔhene Yosia de nʼakofo tuu sa, kɔko tiaa no, nanso bere a wohyiaa wɔ Megido no, ɔhene Neko kum no.
While Josiah was the king of Judah, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah tried to stop the army of Egypt at Megiddo [city], but Josiah was killed in a battle there.
30 Yosia asraafo mu mpanyimfo no de nʼamu no too teaseɛnam mu fii Megido, baa Yerusalem besiee no wɔ nʼankasa ɔboda mu. Na nnipa no sraa ne babarima Yehoahas ngo, sii no hene.
His officials placed his corpse in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where it was buried in his own tomb, a tomb where the other previous kings had not been buried. Then the people of Judah poured [olive] oil on [the head of] Josiah’s son Joahaz, to appoint him to be the new king.
31 Bere a Yehoahas dii hene no, na wadi mfe aduonu abiɛsa, na odii ade wɔ Yerusalem asram abiɛsa. Na ne na yɛ Yeremia a ofi Libna no babea a na ne din de Hamutal.
Joahaz was 23 years old when he became the king [of Judah], but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah [city].
32 Ɔyɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade ani so, sɛnea nʼagyanom yɛe no pɛpɛɛpɛ.
Joahaz did many things that Yahweh said were evil, just like many of his ancestors had done.
33 Farao Neko de Yehoahas too afiase wɔ Ribla wɔ Hamat asase so, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a, ɔrentumi nni hene wɔ Yerusalem. Afei, ɔhyɛɛ sɛ Yuda ntua tow dwetɛ tɔn abiɛsa ne fa ne sikakɔkɔɔ kilogram aduasa anan sɛ sonkahiri.
King Neco’s [army came from Egypt and captured him and] tied him up with chains and took him as a prisoner to Riblah [town] in Hamath [district], to prevent him from continuing to rule in Jerusalem. Neco forced the people of Judah to pay to him (7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.) of silver and (75 pounds/34 kg.) of gold.
34 Farao Neko de Eliakim a ɔyɛ Yosia babarima dii ade ma osii nʼagya anan mu. Ɔsesaa Eliakim din frɛɛ no Yehoiakim. Wɔde Yehoahas kɔɔ Misraim sɛ odeduani, na owui wɔ hɔ.
King Neco appointed another son of Josiah, Eliakim, to be the new king, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Joahaz to Egypt, and later Joahaz died there in Egypt.
35 Sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a Yehoiakim benya dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ tow a Farao Neko regye no nti, otwitwaa tow maa Yudafo tuae. Obiara tuaa sɛnea nʼahonya te.
King Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people [of Judah]. He collected more from the rich people and less from the poor people. He collected silver and gold from them, in order to pay to the king of Egypt what he commanded them to give.
36 Bere a Yehoiakim dii ade no, na wadi mfirihyia aduonu anum, na odii ade wɔ Yerusalem mfe dubaako. Na ne na din de Sebuda a ɔyɛ Pedaia a ofi Ruma babea.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah [town].
37 Ɔyɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade ani so, sɛnea nʼagyanom yɛe no.
He did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his ancestors had done.
