Amos 7
1 Nea Otumfo Awurade yi kyerɛɛ me ni: na ɔreboaboa mmoadabi bebree ano. Eyi yɛ bere a wɔatwa ɔhene kyɛfa afi mfuw no so na akyiri nnɔbae no renyin no.
Yahweh our God showed me [in a vision] that he was going to send locusts [to destroy our crops]. It was going to happen right after the king’s share of the hay had been harvested/cut and before the rest of the hay was ready to be harvested.
2 Bere a mmoadabi no awe asase no so nnɔbae nyinaa no, meteɛɛ mu se “Otumfo Awurade, mesrɛ wo, fa wo nkurɔfo bɔne kyɛ wɔn! Yakob bɛyɛ dɛn agyina? Ɔyɛ ɔman ketewa bi.”
[And in the vision I saw] those locusts come, and they ate everything that was green. Then I cried out, “Yahweh our Lord, please forgive us! We Israeli people are very helpless; (how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?/we will not be able to survive!)”
3 Ɛno nti, Awurade bo dwoe. Na ogyaee nʼatirimpɔw no. Ɔkae se, “Merenyɛ.”
So Yahweh changed his mind and said, “That will not happen.”
4 Nea Otumfo Awurade yi kyerɛɛ me ni: Otumfo Awurade de ogya rebebu atɛn; ɛyow bun kɛse no, na ɛsɛee asase no.
Then this is what Yahweh our Lord showed me [in another vision]: He was calling to a fire to [come and] punish [his people]. [In the vision I saw that] the fire dried up the ocean and also burned [everything on] the land.
5 Na meteɛɛ mu se, “Otumfo Awurade, mesrɛ wo, gyae! Yakob rentumi nnyina! Ɔyɛ ɔman ketewa bi.”
Then I cried out again, “Yahweh our Lord, I plead with you, please stop this! We Israeli people are very helpless; how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?”
6 Ɛno nti, Awurade bo dwoe na ɔkae se, “Megyae mʼatirimpɔw yi nso.”
So Yahweh changed his mind again, and said, “That also will not happen.”
7 Eyi ne nea oyi kyerɛɛ me: Na Awurade gyina ɔfasu a wɔato no kirebenn no ho, a okita kirebennyɛ susudua no.
Then Yahweh showed me [another vision]. I saw him standing beside a wall. [It was very straight because] it had been built using a (plumb line/cord with a weight on one end to determine if walls are vertically straight). Yahweh had the plumb line in his hand.
8 Na Awurade bisaa me se, “Amos, dɛn na wuhu?” Mibuae se, “Kirebennyɛ susudua.” Na Awurade kae se, “Mede kirebennyɛ susudua yi reto me nkurɔfo Israelfo ho; meremfa wɔn ho nkyɛ wɔn bio.
Yahweh asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then Yahweh said, “Look, I am going to use a plumb line among my Israeli people, [to show that they are like a wall that is not straight]. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.
9 “Wɔbɛsɛe Isak sorɔnsorɔmmea na Israel kronkron tenabea nso wobebubu no; mede mʼafoa bɛsɔre atia Yeroboamfi.”
The places on hills where [the descendants of] [MTY] Isaac worship [idols] will be destroyed. And the other important shrines in Israel will also be destroyed. And I will enable [your enemies] to attack your people with swords and they will get rid of [King] Jeroboam and all his descendants.”
10 Amasia a ɔyɛ Bet-El sɔfo de nkra kɔmaa Israelhene Yeroboam se, “Amos rebɔ pɔw atia wo wɔ Israel ha yi ara! Nsɛm a ɔreka no nyɛ abodwosɛm.
Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent [a message] to Jeroboam, the King of Israel. In the message he said, “Amos is plotting against you among the Israeli people [MTY]. [I am worried that] the people of this country will not be able to refute his words.
11 Nea Amos reka ni: “‘Yeroboam bewu wɔ afoa ano, na ɔkwan biara so Israel bɛkɔ nnommum mu, wɔ akyirikyiri asase so.’”
This is what he is saying: ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed by [someone using] a sword, and the people of Israel will be (exiled/forced to leave their land and go to another country).’”
12 Na Amasia ka kyerɛɛ Amos se, “Fi ha kɔ, wo ɔdehufo! San kɔ Yuda asase so na kɔtena hɔ hyɛ wo nkɔm.
Then Amaziah [came to me and] said, “You prophet, get out of here! Go back to the country of Judah! Earn money to [buy food to be able] to live there, and do your prophesying there!
13 Nhyɛ nkɔm bio wɔ Bet-El ha, efisɛ ha yɛ ɔhene tenabea kronkron ne ahemman no asɔredan.”
Do not prophesy any more here at Bethel, because this is where the national temple, the king’s temple, is!”
14 Amos buaa Amasia se, “Mennyɛ odiyifo anaa odiyifo bi ba, na na meyɛ oguanhwɛfo a na mehwɛ borɔdɔma nnua nso so.
I replied to Amaziah, “I was [previously] not a prophet, and my father was not a prophet; I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
15 Nanso Awurade frɛɛ me fii nguan sohwɛ so, ka kyerɛɛ me se, ‘Kɔhyɛ nkɔm kyerɛ me nkurɔfo Israelfo.’
But Yahweh took me away from taking care of my sheep, and he said to me, ‘Go to Israel and prophesy to my people there!’
16 Na afei, tie Awurade asɛm. Woka se, “‘Nhyɛ nkɔm ntia Israelfo, na gyae asɛnka a wode tia Isakfifo no.’
You said to me, ‘Do not prophecy saying terrible things will happen to [the people of] Israel; stop saying those things!’
17 “Enti asɛm a Awurade ka ni: “‘Wo yere bɛbɔ aguaman wɔ kuropɔn yi mu, wo mmabarima ne wo mmabea bewuwu wɔ afoa ano. Wobesusuw wʼasase na wakyekyɛ mu, na wʼankasa nso, wubewu wɔ abosonsomman mu, na ɔkwan biara so Israel bɛkɔ nnommum mu, wɔ akyirikyiri asase so.’”
Therefore listen to what Yahweh says about you: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed by [your enemies’] swords. Others will measure your land and divide it up [among themselves]; and you yourself will die in a foreign country. And the people of Israel will certainly be forced to leave their country and go (into exile/to live in another country).’”
