Yeremia 15

1 Afei Awurade ka kyerɛɛ me se, “Sɛ mpo, Mose ne Samuel begyinaa mʼanim a anka me koma rentɔ nkɔ saa nnipa yi so. Ma womfi mʼani so! Ma wɔnkɔ!

Then Yahweh said [this] to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel could [come back from their graves and] and stand in front of me [and plead with me for these Israeli people], I would not act mercifully [IDM] toward these people. [I would tell you], ‘Send them away from me. Cause them to leave me!’

2 Na sɛ wobisa wo se, ‘Ɛhe na yɛnkɔ’ a, ka kyerɛ wɔn se, ‘Sɛɛ na Awurade se: “‘Wɔn a wɔahyɛ owu ama wɔn no, bɛkɔ owu mu; wɔn a wɔahyɛ afoa ama wɔn no bɛtotɔ wɔ afoa ano; wɔn a wɔahyɛ ɔkɔm ama wɔn no, ɔkɔm bɛde wɔn; wɔn a wɔahyɛ nnommumfa ama wɔn no bɛkɔ nnommum mu.’

And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’, tell them, ‘This is what Yahweh says: The ones that I say must die, will die: The ones that I say must die in wars [MTY], will die in wars. The ones that I say must die from hunger, will die from hunger. The ones that I say must be captured [and taken to other countries], will be captured [and taken to other countries].

3 “Mede adesɛefo ahorow anan bɛba wɔn so,” Awurade na ose, “afoa a ebekunkum wɔn, akraman a wɔbɛtwe wɔn ase akɔ, wim nnomaa ne asase so mmoa a wɔbɛtetew wɔn nam asɛe wɔn.

I will send four things that will get rid of them: I will send [enemy soldiers using] swords to kill them. I will send wild dogs to drag away [their corpses]. I will send vultures to eat [their corpses]. And I will send [other] wild animals to eat what remains [of their corpses].

4 Mɛma wɔayɛ akyiwade ama asase so ahenni nyinaa, esiane nea Yudahene Hesekia babarima Manase yɛɛ wɔ Yerusalem nti.

Because of [the wicked things that] King Manasseh did in Jerusalem, I will cause [people in] all the kingdoms of the earth to be horrified about [what will happen in Judah to] my people.

5 “Hena na obehu wo mmɔbɔ, Yerusalem? Hena na obegyam wo? Hena na obegyina abisa sɛnea wo ho te?

You [people of], no one will [RHQ] feel sorry for you. No one will [RHQ] weep/cry for you. No one will [RHQ] ask (how you are/if you are well).

6 Woapo me,” Awurade na ose. “Wugu akyirisan so ara. Ɛno nti mɛteɛ me nsa wɔ wo so na masɛe wo. Me yam renhyehye me mma wo bio.

You people have abandoned me; you have continued to walk away [from me] [DOU]. So, I will lift up my fist to smash you; I will not act mercifully toward you any longer.

7 Mede nhuhuwso apampaa behuhuw wɔn so wɔ asase no kuropɔn apon ano. Mede owu ne ɔsɛe bɛba me nkurɔfo so, efisɛ wɔnsakraa wɔn akwan ɛ.

At the gates of your cities, I will [scatter you like a farmer scatters the chaff from his grain by] (winnowing it/throwing it up to allow the wind to blow the chaff away) [MET]. You, my people, have refused to turn away from your evil behavior. [So], I will get rid of you, and I will even cause your children to be killed.

8 Mɛma wɔn akunafo adɔɔso asen mpoano nwea. Mede ɔsɛefo bɛba owigyinae, abɛhaw wɔn mmerante nanom; mpofirim mede ɔyaw ne ehu bɛba wɔn so.

I will cause there to be more widows [in Judah] than [there are grains of] sand on the seashore [HYP]. At noontime, [when people will not be expecting it to happen], I will cause [an enemy army] to attack you, an army that will destroy your young men and cause their mothers to weep. I will cause you to suddenly experience great suffering/pain and become very terrified.

9 Ɔbeatan a wawo ason bɛtɔ beraw, na wagyaa mu. Ne wia bɛtɔ wɔ bere a ade nsaa ɛ; wobegu nʼanim ase abrɛ no ase. Mede nkae no bɛma afoa wɔ wɔn atamfo anim,” Awurade na ose.

A woman who has seven children will become faint and (gasp for breath/be hardly able to breathe); [it will be as though] daylight will become darkness for her, [because most of] her children will be dead, and she will be disgraced and humiliated [DOU]. And her children who are still alive, I will enable your enemies to kill them. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.’”

10 Ao, me na a wowoo me, onipa a asase no sofo nyinaa ne me ham, di aperepere! Memfɛm obi biribi na memmɔɔ bosea mfii obi hɔ ɛ, nanso obiara dome me.

[I said to] my mother, “I am very sad; I wish that you had not given birth to me; everyone in this land opposes me and quarrels with me. I am not a person who lends [money to people and threatens to sue/harm them if they do not pay me back when they should], and I am not a person who borrows [money from others and then refuses to pay it back], but everyone [HYP] curses me.”

11 Awurade kae se, “Nokware megye wo ama botae pa bi; ampa ara mɛma wʼatamfo apa wo kyɛw wɔ amanehunu ne ahohia mmere mu.

But Yahweh replied to me, “[Jeremiah], I will take care of you. And at times when your enemies have troubles and disasters, they will [come to you and] plead for you [to help them].”

12 “Onipa betumi abu dade mu dade a efi atifi fam, anaa kɔbere?

[Yahweh also told me to say to the people] of Judah, “Your enemies, who are [as strong as] iron or bronze, [will attack you] from the north; no one will be able to stop them.

13 “Mo ahode ne mo nnwetɛbona mede bɛma sɛ wɔmfom a wɔrentua ka, esiane mo nnebɔne nyinaa wɔ mo man no mu nti.

I will give all the valuable possessions [of the people of Judah] to their enemies, without them paying for it. Their valuable possessions will be the payment/reward [that I will give them] because of all the sins that you have committed throughout your country.

14 Mede mo bɛyɛ nkoa ama mo atamfo wɔ ɔman a munnim so so, mʼabufuw bɛma ogya adɛw na ɛbɛhyew mo.”

I will tell your enemies to force you to become their prisoners, and to take you to other lands that you do not [even] know about, and force you to become their slaves. [That will happen] because I am extremely angry [with you]; my being angry is [like] [SIM] a fire that will burn forever.”

15 Wote ase, Awurade; kae me na hwɛ me so. Tɔ wɔn a wɔtaa me no so were. Wowɔ abodwokyɛre, mma me nwu; hwɛ sɛnea wo nti wɔbɔ me ahohora.

[Then I said], “Yahweh, you know [what is happening to me]. [Please] come and (help me/take care of me). Punish those who are (persecuting me/causing me to suffer). [Please] do not continue to be patient with them and do not allow me to die now. It is (for your sake/because I serve you) that I am suffering.

16 Wo nsɛm bae no, midii; ɛyɛɛ mʼahosɛpɛw ne me koma apɛde, na wo din da me so, Ao, Asafo Awurade Nyankopɔn.

Yahweh my God, you are the Commander of the armies of angels; and when you spoke to me, I was delighted with your message; it caused me to be joyful, and I eagerly accepted [MET] what you said because I belong to you. [IDM, MTY]

17 Mantena wɔn a wogye wɔn ani fekuw mu, ne wɔn annye wɔn ani; metew me ho tenae, efisɛ wo nsa daa me so na wʼabufuw hyɛɛ me ma.

When the people were carousing together, I never joined them; I sat alone, because you [MTY] are the one who controls what I do. I was very angry [with those people because of their sins].

18 Adɛn nti na me yaw to ntwa da na mʼapirakuru ayɛ akisikuru a ano yɛ den? Wopɛ sɛ woyɛ sɛ nnaadaa asuwa ma me, sɛ asuti a ɛyow ana?

So, (why do you [allow] me to continue to suffer?/I do not understand why you allow me to continue to suffer.) [RHQ] It seems that [RHQ] my wounds cannot be healed. [Sometimes you help me, sometimes you do not help me]. It seems that you are as undependable as a brook that has water in it only during certain seasons; you are like a spring that has dried up.”

19 Enti sɛɛ na Awurade se, “Sɛ wosakra wʼadwene a megye wo ato mu bio na woasom me; sɛ nsɛm a edi mu fi wʼanom, na ɛnyɛ nsɛm huhuw a, wobɛyɛ me kasamafo. Ma saa nnipa yi nnan mmra wo nkyɛn, na wo de, ɛnsɛ sɛ wodan kɔ wɔn nkyɛn.

Then Yahweh [replied], “If you begin again to [trust in] me, I will restore you, in order that you can continue to serve me. If you proclaim good/valuable messages and not worthless ones, you will continue to be the one who speaks what I tell you to say. You must cause the people to pay attention to what you say; you must not pay attention to what they say.

20 Mede wo bɛyɛ ɔfasu ama saa nnipa yi, bammɔ fasu a wɔde kɔbere ato; wɔne wo bedi asi nanso wɔrenni wo so nkonim, efisɛ me ne wo wɔ hɔ sɛ meyi wo na magye wo nkwa,” Awurade, na ose.

They will fight against you, but I will protect you, like [SIM] people are protected from their enemies by a bronze wall. They will not defeat you, because I will be with you, and I will protect and rescue [DOU] you.

21 “Megye wo nkwa afi amumɔyɛfo nsam na mayi wo afi atirimɔdenfo nsam.”

[Truly], I will keep you safe from those wicked people, I will rescue you when you are seized by cruel people. [That will happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”