Yeremia 9
1 Ao, sɛ me ti yɛ asuti, na mʼaniwa yɛ nusu abura a! Mɛtew nusu awia ne anadwo ama me nkurɔfo a wɔakunkum wɔn no.
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
2 Ao, sɛ mewɔ akwantufo asoɛe wɔ nweatam no so a anka megyaw me nkurɔfo hɔ na mafi wɔn nkyɛn; efisɛ wɔn nyinaa yɛ nguaman, nnipakuw a wonni nokware.
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
3 “Wosiesie wɔn tɛkrɛma te sɛ agyan de di atoro; Ɛnyɛ nokware so na wɔnam di yiye wɔ asase yi so. Wɔyɛ bɔne toatoa so; na wonnye me nto mu,” Awurade na ose.
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,”
4 “Monhwɛ yiye wɔ mo nnamfonom ho; munnye obiara nni wɔ mo abusua mu. Efisɛ wɔn mu biara yɛ ɔdaadaafo, na adamfo biara yɛ ɔsɛefo.
“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.
5 Adamfo daadaa adamfo, na wɔn mu biara nka nokware. Wɔn tɛkrɛma akokwaw atorodi mu, wɔde bɔneyɛ haw wɔn ho.
Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.
6 Wote nnaadaa mfimfini; na wɔn nnaadaa mu wɔmpɛ sɛ wogye me to mu,” sɛnea Awurade se ni.
You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,”
7 Ɛno nti, sɛɛ na Asafo Awurade se, “Hwɛ, mɛnan wɔn asɔ wɔn ahwɛ, na dɛn bio na metumi ayɛ esiane me nkurɔfo yi bɔne nti?
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
8 Wɔn tɛkrɛma yɛ agyan a ano wɔ bɔre; ɛka nnaadaasɛm. Obiara kasa asomdwoe mu kyerɛ ne yɔnko, nanso ne koma mu de, osum no afiri.
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
9 Ɛnsɛ sɛ metwe wɔn aso wɔ eyi ho?” Sɛɛ na Awurade se. “Ɛnsɛ sɛ mʼankasa metɔ ɔman a ɛte sɛɛ so were ana?
Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10 Mesu na metwa adwo ama mmepɔw no, mɛbɔ abubuw a ɛfa nweatam adidibea ho. Ayɛ fo na obi mfa hɔ bio, na wɔnte anantwi su wɔ hɔ. Wim nnomaa no atutu kɔ na mmoa no nso aguan kɔ.
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
11 “Mɛyɛ Yerusalem mmubui siw, sakraman atu; na mɛma Yuda nkurow ada mpan sɛnea obiara ntumi ntena hɔ.”
“And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
12 Onipa bɛn na onim nyansa ara sɛ ɔbɛte eyi ase? Hena na Awurade akyerɛkyerɛ no a obetumi akyerɛ ase? Adɛn nti na wɔasɛe asase no ama ada mpan sɛ nweatam a obiara ntumi mfa so?
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
13 Awurade kae se, “Esiane sɛ wɔapo me mmara a mehyɛ maa wɔn no nti, wɔanyɛ osetie amma me na wɔanni me mmara so.
And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.
14 Mmom, wɔadi wɔn koma asoɔden akyi, wɔadi Baalnom akyi sɛnea wɔn agyanom kyerɛɛ wɔn no.”
Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”
15 Ɛno nti, nea Asafo Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn no se ni: “Hwɛ, mɛma saa nnipa yi adi aduan a ɛyɛ nwen na wɔanom nsu a wɔde awuduru afra.
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
16 Mɛbɔ wɔn ahwete amanaman a wɔn anaa wɔn agyanom nnim so no so, na mede afoa bɛtaa wɔn kosi sɛ mɛsɛe wɔn.”
I will scatter them among the nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
17 Sɛnea Awurade tumfo se ni: “Dwene ho! Frɛ mmea agyaadwotwafo no, frɛ wɔn a wɔakwadaw mu pa ara.
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them.
18 Ma wɔmmra ntɛm mmesu ngu yɛn so kosi sɛ yɛn ani so bɛtaa nusu na nusu aguare yɛn.
Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
19 Wɔte agyaadwotwa nnyigyei fi Sion se, ‘Wɔasɛe yɛn! Yɛn anim agu ase yiye! Ɛsɛ sɛ yetu fi yɛn asase so efisɛ yɛn afi abubu.’”
For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’”
20 Afei, mo mmea, muntie Awurade asɛm; monyɛ aso mma nsɛm a efi nʼanom. Monkyerɛ mo mmabea sɛnea wotwa dwo; monkyerɛ mo ho mo ho abubuwbɔ.
Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament.
21 Owu aforo afa yɛn mfɛnsere mu ahyɛn yɛn aban mu; apam mmofra afi mmɔnten so ne mmerante afi ɔman aguabɔbea.
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
22 Ka se, “Sɛɛ Na Awurade se, “‘Nnipa afunu bɛdeda hɔ te sɛ sumina a egugu petee mu, te sɛ aburow a nnɔbaetwafo atwa agu nʼakyi a obiara mmoaboaa ano.’”
Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
23 Eyi ne nea Awurade se: “Mma onyansafo mfa ne nyansa nhyehyɛ ne ho anaa ɔhoɔdenfo mfa nʼahoɔden nhyehyɛ ne ho anaa ɔdefo mfa nʼahonya nhyehyɛ ne ho.
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
24 Mmom ma nea ɔhyehyɛ ne ho nhyehyɛ ne ho sɛ ɔwɔ nhumu, na onim sɛ, me ne Awurade a ɔyɛ adɔe, na obu atɛntrenee na ɔyɛ adetrenee wɔ asase so, efisɛ eyinom na ɛsɔ mʼani,” sɛnea Awurade se ni.
But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth— for I delight in these things,”
25 “Nna no reba,” Awurade na ose, “A mɛtwe wɔn a wɔatwa twetia wɔ honam fam nko ara no nyinaa aso:
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised:
26 Misraimfo, Yudafo, Edomfo, Amonfo, Moabfo ne wɔn a wɔtete nweatam a ɛwɔ akyirikyiri nsase so nyinaa. Na nokware, saa aman yi nyinaa yɛ momonotofo na mpo Israelfi nyinaa yɛ koma mu momonotofo.”
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
