Yeremia 10
1 Muntie nea Awurade ka kyerɛ mo, Israelfi.
You people of Israel, listen to what Yahweh says:
2 Sɛɛ na Awurade se: “Munnsua amanaman no akwan anaa momma wim nsɛnkyerɛnne mmɔ mo hu, ɛwɔ mu sɛ wɔbɔ amanaman no hu.
“Do not act like the people of [other] nations act, and do not be terrified by strange/unusual things that you see in the sky, even though they cause the [people of other] nations to be terrified.
3 Na nkurɔfo no amanne nka hwee; wotwa dua fi kwae mu, na odwumfo de ne fitii asen.
The customs of the people [of other nations] are worthless. [For example], they cut down a tree in the forest. Then a [skilled] worker/craftsman [cuts a section of it and] uses his chisel to carve an idol from that section.
4 Wɔde dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ hyehyɛ no; wɔde nnadewa ne asae bobɔ si hɔ sɛnea ɛrenhwe fam.
[Then] people decorate the idol with silver and gold. [Then] they fasten it securely with nails in order that it will not topple/fall over.
5 Ɛte sɛ kaakaabotoni a esi ɛfere mfikyifuw mu, wɔn ahoni no ntumi nkasa; ɛsɛ sɛ wɔsoa wɔn efisɛ wontumi nnantew. Munnsuro wɔn; wɔrentumi nhaw mo na wɔrentumi nyɛ ade pa biara nso.”
[Then] the idol [stands there] like [SIM] a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers/melons! It cannot speak, and people must carry it, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of idols, because they cannot harm [anyone], and they cannot do [anything] good [to help anyone].”
6 Obiara nte sɛ wo, Awurade; woyɛ ɔkɛse na wo din so wɔ tumi mu.
Yahweh, there is no one like you. You [MTY] are great, and you are very powerful.
7 Hena na ɛnsɛ sɛ odi wo ni, Amansanhene? Eyi na ɛfata wo. Amanaman no so anyansafo nyinaa mu ne wɔn ahenni nyinaa mu, obiara ne wo nsɛ.
You are the king of all the nations! Everyone should [RHQ] revere you, because that is what you deserve. Among all the wise people on the earth and in all the kingdoms where they live, (there is no one like you./who can compare with you?)
8 Wɔn nyinaa yɛ adwenharefo ne nkwaseafo; dua ahoni a so nni mfaso na ɛma wɔn nkyerɛkyerɛ.
Those people who [think that they are] very wise [IRO] are stupid and foolish [DOU]. The idols that they worship are only made of wood! Those idols certainly cannot teach them anything.
9 Wɔde dwetɛ a wɔaboro fi Tarsis ba, ne sikakɔkɔɔ nso fi Ufas ba. Ɛyɛ nea odwumfo ne sika dwumfo ayɛ a wɔde ntama bibiri ne beredum afura no, ne nyinaa yɛ adwumfo anyansafo nsa ano nnwuma.
People hammer into thin sheets silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and then they give those sheets of silver and gold to skilled workers/craftsmen to cover the idols. Then they put on those idols expensive purple robes that are made by skilled workers.
10 Nanso Awurade ne nokware Onyankopɔn no; ɔno ne Onyankopɔn teasefo, daapem Hene no. Sɛ ne bo fuw a asase wosow; na amanaman no ntumi nnyina nʼabufuwhyew ano.
But Yahweh is the [only] true God; he is the all-powerful God, the king [who rules] forever. When he is angry, [all] the earth shakes/quakes; and [the people of] the nations cannot endure [what he does] when he is angry [with them].
11 “Ka eyi kyerɛ wɔn: ‘Saa anyame a ɛnyɛ wɔn na wɔyɛɛ ɔsoro ne asase no bɛyera afi asase so ne ɔsorosoro ase.’”
[You Israeli people], tell this to those people: “Those idols did not make the sky and the earth, and they will disappear from the earth.”
12 Nanso Onyankopɔn de ne tumi bɔɔ asase; ɔtoo wiase fapem wɔ ne nyansa mu, na ɔde ne nhumu trɛw ɔsorosoro mu.
But [Yahweh] made the earth by his power; he established it [firmly] by his wisdom and stretched out the sky by his understanding.
13 Sɛ ɔpaapae aprannaa a ɔsorosoro nsu bobɔ mu; ɔma omununkum ma ne ho so fi nsase ano. Ɔde anyinam ka osu ho ba, na ogyaa mframa mu fi nʼadekoradan mu.
When he speaks [loudly], there is thunder in the sky; he causes clouds to form over every part of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and releases the winds from his storehouses.
14 Onipa biara nnim nyansa, na onni nimdeɛ; sikadwumfo biara anim gu ase, esiane nʼahoni nti. Ne nsɛsode yɛ atoro; wonni ɔhome biara wɔ wɔn mu.
People are senseless and know very little [HYP]; those who make idols are always disappointed because their idols do nothing for them. The images/statues that they make are not real [gods]; they are lifeless.
15 Wɔn so nni mfaso, wɔn ho yɛ serew; sɛ wɔn atemmu du so a, wɔbɛyera.
Idols are worthless; they deserve to be ridiculed; there will be a time when they [all] will be destroyed.
16 Nea ɔyɛ Yakob Kyɛfa no nte sɛ eyinom, efisɛ ɔno ne ade nyinaa Yɛfo a Israel, abusua a ɛyɛ nʼagyapade nso ka ho, Asafo Awurade ne ne din.
But the God whom we Israelis worship is not like those idols; he is the one who created everything [that exists]; we, the tribe/people of Israel, belong to him; he is the Commander of the armies of angels.
17 Mommoaboa mo ahode ano mfi asase no so, mo a motete nkurow a wɔatua wɔn ano mu.
[Yahweh says this to the people of Jerusalem]: “The army of your enemies surrounds your city, so gather up your possessions [and prepare] to leave the city.
18 Na sɛɛ na Awurade se: “Saa bere yi mɛtow wɔn a wɔtete asase yi so agu; mede amanehunu bɛba wɔn so sɛnea wɔbɛfa wɔn nnommum.”
I will soon throw you out of this land and cause you to experience great troubles, with the result that you will have severe pain (OR, none of you will be left here).”
19 Me pira yi nti minnue, mʼapirakuru yɛ akisikuru! Nanso mehyɛɛ me ho den sɛ, “Eyi ne me yare, na ɛsɛ sɛ mimia mʼani.”
[The people replied, “It is as though] we have been [badly] wounded, and we are very grieved; [It is as though] we have a very serious illness, and we must endure the pain.
20 Wɔasɛe me ntamadan; wɔatwitwa nʼahama nyinaa mu. Wɔafa me mma nyinaa kɔ a merenhu wɔn bio; anka obiara a obesi me ntamadan anaa obesiesie me suhyɛ.
[It is as though] our [great] tent is destroyed; the ropes [that held it up] have been cut; our children have gone away from us and will not return; there are no people left to rebuild our great tent.
21 Nguanhwɛfo no yɛ adwenharefo wommisa Awurade akyi kwan; ɛno nti wɔnkɔ so na wɔn nguankuw no abɔ ahwete.
Our leaders [MET] no [longer] have any sense; they no [longer] ask Yahweh [to (guide them/tell them what to do)], so they will no [longer] prosper, and all those over whom they rule [MET] will be scattered.
22 Muntie! Amanneɛ no reba, basabasayɛ kɛse a efi atifi fam asase bi so! Ɛbɛma Yuda nkurow ada mpan, na ayɛ sakraman atu.
Listen! [Our enemies’ armies] in the north are making a [very] big noise/commotion [as they march toward us]. The towns in Judah will be destroyed, [and they will become] a place where jackals/wolves live.”
23 Awurade, minim sɛ, onipa nkwa nyɛ ne de; na ɛnyɛ onipa na ɔkyerɛkyerɛ nʼanammɔntu.
Yahweh, I know that no person controls what will happen to him; no one is able to direct the events that he will experience.
24 Teɛ me so, Awurade, wɔ trenee mu, mfi wʼabufuw mu nyɛ; anyɛ saa a wobɛdwerɛw me.
[So] correct/discipline us, but do it gently. Do not correct/punish us when you are angry, because we would die if you did that.
25 Hwie wʼabufuwhyew no gu amanaman a wonnye wo nto mu no so, nnipa a wɔmmɔ wo din no so. Efisɛ, wɔasɛe Yakob wɔasɛe no koraa na wɔasɛe nʼasase a wɔwoo no too so no.
Punish [MTY] [all] the nations whose people do not acknowledge/say that you are God; punish all the nations whose people do not worship you, because they are completely destroying [DOU] [us people of] Israel and they are causing our land to soon be only a desert.
