< Yeremia 22 >
1 Sɛɛ na Awurade se, “Sian kɔ Yudahene ahemfi na kɔpae mu ka saa asɛm yi:
This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there,
2 ‘Tie Awurade asɛm, Yudahene, wo a wote Dawid ahengua so, wo, wʼakannifo ne wo nkurɔfo a wɔfa apon yi mu.
saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates.
3 Sɛɛ na Awurade se: Monyɛ nea ɛteɛ na ɛnam kwan mu. Munnye nea wɔabɔ no korɔn mfi ne hyɛsofo nsam. Monnyɛ ɔhɔho, ayisaa ne okunafo bɔne na monnyɛ wɔn basabasa nso, na munnhwie mogya a edi bem ngu wɔ ha.
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
4 Sɛ moyɛ ahwɛyie na mudi saa ahyɛde yi so a, ɛno de ahemfo a wɔte Dawid ahengua so ne wɔn adwumayɛfo ne wɔn nkurɔfo bɛfa saa ahemfi apon yi mu, a wɔtete nteaseɛnam mu ne apɔnkɔ so.
For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people.
5 Enti sɛ moanni saa nhyehyɛe yi so a, Awurade na ose, “Meka me ho ntam sɛ, saa ahemfi yi bɛdan ofituw.”’”
But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”
6 Nea Awurade ka fa Yudahene ahemfi ho ni: “Ɛwɔ mu wote sɛ Gilead ma me, te sɛ Lebanon mmepɔw atifi, nokware, mɛyɛ wo sɛ nweatam, sɛ nkurow a obiara nte mu.
For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited.
7 Mɛsoma asɛefo abɛtoa mo, obiara ne nʼakode, wobetwitwa mo sida mpuran fɛfɛ no mu na wɔatow agu ogya no mu.
I will appoint destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars and throw them into the fire.
8 “Nnipa a wofifi aman bebree so betwa mu wɔ kuropɔn yi so, na wobebisabisa wɔn ho wɔn ho se, ‘Adɛn nti na Awurade ayɛ saa kuropɔn kɛse yi sɛɛ?’
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
9 Na mmuae no bɛyɛ sɛ, ‘Efisɛ wɔagyaw Awurade, wɔn Nyankopɔn apam no akɔsɔre anyame afoforo asom wɔn.’”
Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
10 Munnsu ɔhene a wafi mu, na munni ne ho awerɛhow; mmom, munsu dennen mma nea ɔkɔ nnommum mu, efisɛ ɔrensan nʼakyi na ɔrenhu asase a wɔwoo no wɔ so no bio.
Do not weep for the dead king; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
11 Na sɛɛ na Awurade ka faa Yosia babarima Salum a odii nʼagya ade sɛ Yudahene na wafi ha no ho: “Ɔrensan mma bio.
For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return,
12 Obewu wɔ faako a wɔafa no nnommum kɔ hɔ; na ɔrenhu saa asase yi bio.”
but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”
13 “Nnome nka nea ɔmfa ɔkwan trenee so nsi nʼahemfi, ɔde asisi si nʼabansoro, ɔma ne manfo yɛ adwuma kwa, ontua wɔn apaade so ka.
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
14 Ɔka se, ‘Mesi ahemfi kɛse ama me ho nea ɛwɔ abansoro adan a mu soso.’ Enti ɔyɛ mfɛnsere akɛse wɔ mu, ɔde sida dura mu na ɔde ahosu kɔkɔɔ hyehyɛ mu.
who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
15 “Wowɔ sida bebree a na ɛma woyɛ ɔhene ana? Na wʼagya nni aduan ne nsa ana? Ɔyɛɛ nea ɛfa ne kwan mu na ɛteɛ, enti esii no yiye.
Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
16 Odii mmɔborɔfo ne ahiafo nsɛm maa wɔn, enti biribiara yɛɛ yiye maa no. Na ɛnyɛ eyi na ɛkyerɛ sɛ obi nim me ana?” Awurade na ose.
He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
17 “Mo ani ne mo koma wɔ mfaso bɔne nko ara so, sɛ muhwie mogya a edi bem gu na moyɛ nhyɛso ne asisi nso.”
“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
18 Ɛno nti, sɛɛ na Awurade ka fa Yudahene Yosia babarima Yehoiakim ho: “Wɔrensu no: ‘A, me nuabarima! A, me nuabea!’ Wɔrensu no: ‘A, me wura! A, nʼahoɔfɛ!’
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 Wobesie no sɛ afurum, wɔbɛtwe nʼase na wɔatow no akyene Yerusalem apon akyi.”
He will be buried like a donkey, dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Monkɔ Lebanon nkosu, momma wɔnte mo nne wɔ Basan, munsu mfi Abarim, efisɛ wɔadwerɛw mo dɔm nyinaa.
Go up to Lebanon and cry out; raise your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed.
21 Mebɔɔ wo kɔkɔ, bere a na ɛyɛ wo sɛ wʼasom adwo wo no, nanso wokae se, ‘Merentie!’ Eyi ne ɔkwan a wonam so fi wo mmerantebere mu; woanyɛ osetie amma me.
I warned you when you were secure. You said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from youth, that you have not obeyed My voice.
22 Mframa bɛbɔ wo nguanhwɛfo nyinaa akɔ, na wʼapamfo nyinaa bɛkɔ nnommum mu. Afei wʼani bewu na wʼanim agu ase esiane wʼamumɔyɛ nyinaa nti.
The wind will drive away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.
23 Mo a mote Lebanon, na modeda sida adan mu, sɛnea mubesi apini wɔ ɔyaw mu, ɔyaw ɛte sɛ ɔbea a ɔreko awo de.
O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
24 “Nokware, sɛ mete ase yi,” Awurade na ose, “Mpo sɛ wo Yehoiakin, Yudahene Yehoiakim babarima yɛ me nsa nifa so nsɔwano kaa a, anka mɛworɔw wo.
“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
25 Mede wo bɛma wɔn a wɔrehwehwɛ wo kra, wɔn a wusuro wɔn no; Babiloniahene Nebukadnessar ne Babiloniafo.
In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.
26 Mɛpam wo ne ɛna a ɔwoo wo no akogu ɔman foforo so, baabi a ɛnyɛ hɔ na wɔwoo mo mu biara, hɔ na mo baanu bewuwu.
I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die.
27 Morensan mma asase a mo kɔn dɔ sɛ mobɛsan aba so no so bio.”
You will never return to the land for which you long.”
28 Saa ɔbarima Yehoiakin yi yɛ asɛnka a abɔ ade a obiara mpɛ ana? Adɛn nti na wɔbɛpam ɔne ne mma, akogu asase a wonnim so no so?
Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
29 Ao, asase, asase, asase! Tie Awurade asɛm!
O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
30 Sɛɛ na Awurade se: “Monkyerɛw ɔbarima yi ho asɛm nto hɔ te sɛ obi a onni ba, ɔbarima a ɔrennya nkɔso ne nkwa nna nyinaa na nʼasefo mu biara rennya nkɔso, na wɔn mu biara rentena Dawid ahengua so na wɔrenni Yuda so hene bio.”
This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”