Yesaia 59
1 Ampa ara Awurade nsa nyɛ tiaa sɛ ɛrennye nkwa, na nʼasom nyɛ den sɛ ɛrente asɛm.
Truly, the Lord's hand has not become short, so that he is unable to give salvation; and his ear is not shut from hearing:
2 Nanso mo amumɔyɛ na atetew mo ne mo Nyankopɔn ntam; mo bɔne ama nʼanim ahintaw mo, a enti ɔrente.
But your sins have come between you and your God, and by your evil doings his face has been veiled from you, so that he will give you no answer.
3 Na mogya akeka mo nsa ho, afɔdi asra mo nsateaa ho. Mo ano akeka atosɛm, mo tɛkrɛma de amumɔyɛsɛm di nseku.
For your hands are unclean with blood, and your fingers with sin; your lips have said false things, and your tongue gives out deceit.
4 Obiara nhwehwɛ atɛntrenee; obiara mfa nokwaredi mmɔ ne nkurow. Wɔde wɔn ho to nsɛnhuhuw so na wotwa nkontompo; wonyinsɛn ɔhaw na wɔwo bɔne.
No one puts forward an upright cause, or gives a true decision: their hope is in deceit, and their words are false; they are with child with sin, and give birth to evil.
5 Wosow nhurutoa nkesua na wɔnwen ananse ntontan. Nea odi wɔn nkesua biara bewu, mu baako nso bɔ a, ɛpae ahurutoa.
They give birth to snake's eggs, and make spider's threads: whoever takes their eggs for food comes to his death, and the egg which is crushed becomes a poison-snake.
6 Wɔn ntontan nye mma adurade; wɔrentumi mfa nea wɔyɛ nkata wɔn ho. Wɔn nneyɛe yɛ nneyɛe bɔne, na wodi akakabensɛm.
Their twisted threads will not make clothing, and their works will give them nothing for covering themselves: their works are works of sin, and violent acts are in their hands.
7 Wotu mmirika kɔyɛ bɔne; wɔnkyɛ opira ne awudi ho. Baabiara a wɔbɛkɔ no, wɔsɛe hɔ pasaa.
Their feet go quickly to evil, and they take delight in the death of the upright; their thoughts are thoughts of sin; wasting and destruction are in their ways.
8 Asomdwoe kwan no, wonnim; atɛntrenee nni wɔn akwan so. Wɔadan wɔn akwan kɔntɔnkye obiara a ɔnantew so no rennya asomdwoe.
They have no knowledge of the way of peace, and there is no sense of what is right in their behaviour: they have made for themselves ways which are not straight; whoever goes in them has no knowledge of peace.
9 Enti atɛntrenee ne yɛn ntam aware, na adetrenee mmɛn yɛn. Yɛhwehwɛ hann, nanso ne nyinaa yɛ sum; nea ɛhyerɛn, nanso yɛnam sum kabii mu.
For this cause our right is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us: we are looking for light, but there is only the dark; for the shining of the sun, but our way is in the night.
10 Te sɛ anifuraefo no, yɛkeka wɔ afasu ho hwehwɛ ɔkwan te sɛ nnipa a wonni ani. Owigyinae no yehintihintiw sɛnea onwini adwo; yedu ahoɔdenfo mu a yɛte sɛ awufo.
We go on our way, like blind men feeling for the wall, even like those who have no eyes: we are running against things in daylight as if it was evening; our place is in the dark like dead men.
11 Yɛn nyinaa woro so te sɛ sisi; yɛde awerɛhow kurum sɛ mmorɔnoma. Yɛhwehwɛ atɛntrenee nso yenhu bi; ogye, nanso ɛwɔ akyirikyiri.
We make noises of grief, like bears, and sad sounds like doves: we are looking for our right, but it is not there; for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 Efisɛ, yɛn mfomso adɔɔso wɔ wʼani so, na yɛn bɔne di adanse tia yɛn. Yɛn mfomso da yɛn anim daa, na yegye yɛn amumɔyɛ to mu:
For our evil doings are increased before you, and our sins give witness against us: for our evil doings are with us, and we have knowledge of our sins:
13 atuatew ne nkontompo a etia Awurade, yɛn akyi a yɛdan kyerɛ yɛn Nyankopɔn, nhyɛso ne atuatew a yɛfoa so, atosɛm a efi koma mu a yɛka.
We have gone against the Lord, and been false to him, turning away from our God, our words have been uncontrolled, and in our hearts are thoughts of deceit.
14 Enti wɔapam atɛntrenee kɔ nʼakyi, na adetrenee akogyina baabi; nokware ahwe ase wɔ mmɔnten so nokwaredi ntumi mma mu.
And the right is turned back, and righteousness is far away: for good faith is not to be seen in the public places, and upright behaviour may not come into the town.
15 Nokware nni baabiara, obiara a ɔtwe ne ho fi bɔne ho no bɛyɛ ɔtamfo. Awurade hwɛe na ansɔ nʼani sɛ atɛntrenee nni hɔ.
Yes, faith is gone; and he whose heart is turned from evil comes into the power of the cruel: and the Lord saw it, and he was angry that there was no one to take up their cause.
16 Ohuu sɛ obiara nni hɔ, ɛyɛɛ no nwonwa sɛ obiara nni hɔ a ɔbɛpata; enti ɔno ankasa basa dii nkwagye ho dwuma maa no, na ne trenee wowaw no.
And he saw that there was no man, and was surprised that there was no one to take up their cause: so his arm gave salvation, and he made righteousness his support.
17 Ɔhyɛɛ trenee sɛ nkatabo, ne nkwagye dadekyɛw wɔ ne ti so. Ɔhyɛɛ aweretɔ ntade na ofuraa mmɔdemmɔ sɛ ntama.
Yes, he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and salvation as a head-dress; and he put on punishment as clothing, and wrath as a robe.
18 Obegyina nea wɔayɛ so atua so ka nʼatamfo benya nʼabufuwhyew wɔn a wɔne no ayɛ dɔm benya so akatua; nsupɔw no nso obetua wɔn ka sɛnea ɛfata wɔn.
He will give them the right reward of their doings, wrath to his attackers, punishment to his haters, and even on the sea-lands he will send punishment.
19 Efi atɔe fam, nnipa besuro Awurade din na efi apuei, wɔde nidi bɛma nʼanuonyam. Na ɔbɛba sɛ asu a ayiri tɛnn na Awurade ahomegu repia no.
So they will see the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the east: for he will come like a rushing stream, forced on by a wind of the Lord.
20 “Ogyefo no bɛba Sion, na obeyi amumɔyɛsɛm nyinaa afi Yakob asefo mu,” sɛɛ na Awurade se.
And as a saviour he will come to Zion, turning away sin from Jacob, says the Lord.
21 “Me de, eyi yɛ me ne wɔn apam,” sɛnea Awurade se ni. “Me Honhom a ɔwɔ mo so, ne me nsɛm a mede ahyɛ mo anom, remfi mo anom, anaa mo mma, ne mo mma asefo anom, efi saa bere yi kosi daa apem,” sɛɛ na Awurade se.
And as for me, this is my agreement with them, says the Lord: my spirit which is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not go away from your mouth, or from the mouth of your seed, or from the mouth of your seed's seed, says the Lord, from now and for ever.
