Atemmufo 11
1 Gileadni Yefta yɛ ɔkofo kɛse. Nʼagya din de Gilead. Nanso ne na yɛ ɔbea guamanfo.
Jephthah of Gilead was a strong fighter. He was the son of a prostitute, and his father was Gilead.
2 Gilead yere woo mmabarima bebree, na saa mmabarima no nyinyinii no, wɔpam Yefta fii asase no so. Wɔka kyerɛɛ no se, “Worennya yɛn agya agyapade biara, efisɛ woyɛ ɔbea guamanfo bi ba.”
Gilead's wife gave him sons, who when they grew up, drove Jephthah away, telling him, “You won't inherit anything from our father because you are another woman's son.”
3 Enti Yefta guan fii ne nuanom nkyɛn kɔtenaa Tob asase so. Ankyɛ, onyaa atuatewfo bebree bedii nʼakyi.
Jephthah ran away from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. A gang of trouble-makers joined him and he led them out on raids.
4 Bere koro yi ara, Amonfo de ɔko bɛkaa Israel.
Later on, the Ammonites were at war with Israel.
5 Bere a Amonfo tow hyɛɛ Israelfo so no, Gilead mpanyimfo soma kɔfaa Yefta fii Tob asase so bae. Wɔka kyerɛɛ no se,
As the Ammonites were attacking Israel, the elders of Gilead came to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
6 “Bra na bɛyɛ yɛn so ɔsahene! Boa yɛn ma yɛne Amonfo nko.”
“Come and be our army commander,” they asked Jepthah, “so we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 Yefta bisaa wɔn se, “Ɛnyɛ mo na motan me, pam me fii mʼagya fi no? Adɛn nti na afei a mowɔ ɔhaw mu no, morebɛfrɛ me?”
“Weren't you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father's house?” Jephthah asked them, “Why are you coming to me now you're in trouble?”
8 Gilead mpanyimfo no ka kyerɛɛ Yefta se, “Wo ho hia yɛn. Sɛ wudi yɛn anim ma yɛko tia Amonfo a, yɛbɛyɛ wo Gileadfo nyinaa sodifo.”
“Yes, that's why we've turned to you now,” the elders of Gilead replied. “Come with us and fight the Ammonites, and you will be the leader of all the people of Gilead.”
9 Yefta buae se, “Sɛ me ne mo kɔ na Awurade ma midi Amonfo so nkonim a, ampa ara sɛ mode me bɛyɛ nnipa no nyinaa sodifo ana?”
“So if I go back with you and fight the Ammonites, and the Lord makes me victorious, then I'll be your leader?” Jephthah asked the elders of Gilead.
10 Gilead ntuanofo no buaa no se, “Awurade ne yɛn dansefo. Yɛbɛyɛ sɛnea woka biara.”
“The Lord will be a witness between us,” they replied. “We'll do whatever you say.”
11 Enti Yefta ne ntuanofo no kɔɔ Gilead. Na wɔde no yɛɛ wɔn sodifo ne ɔsahene. Na Yefta tii nsɛm no nyinaa mu wɔ Mispa wɔ Awurade anim.
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and army commander. And Jephthah repeated all his conditions before the Lord at Mizpah.
12 Afei, Yefta somaa abɔfo kɔɔ Amonfo hene nkyɛn se wonkobisa no nea enti a ɔrebɛtow ahyɛ Israel so.
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to ask him, “What have you got against me that you want to attack my land?”
13 Amonfo hene buaa Yefta abɔfo no se, “Bere a Israel fii Misraim bae no, wɔfaa mʼasase a efi Asubɔnten Arnon de kosi Asubɔnten Yabok, toa so kosi Yordan. Enti san fa mʼade ma me asomdwoe mu.”
The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah's messengers, “Israel seized my land when they came from Egypt. It extended from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and across to the Jordan River. So give it back and there'll be no fighting.”
14 Na Yefta san somaa abɔfo kɔɔ Amonfo hene hɔ se,
Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the Ammonites
15 “Sɛnea Yefta se ni: Israel amfa Moab asase anaa Amonfo asase biara.
to tell him, “This is Jephthah's reply: The Israelites did not take any land from Moab or from the Ammonites.
16 Bere a Israelfo tuu kwan fii Misraim, twaa Po Kɔkɔɔ na woduu Kades no,
When they left Egypt, the Israelites went through the desert to the Red Sea and arrived at Kadesh.
17 wɔsomaa abɔfo kɔɔ Edomhene hɔ sɛ ɔmma wɔn kwan na wɔmfa nʼasase no so. Nanso Edomhene ampene. Wɔsoma ma wɔkɔɔ Moabhene hɔ, nanso ɔno nso ampene. Enti, Israelfo tenaa Kades.
They sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your country,’ but the king of Edom refused to listen. They also sent the same request to the king of Moab, and he refused too. So they remained at Kadesh.
18 “Ne korakora ne sɛ, wɔnam sare so twa faa Edom ne Moab ho hyiae. Wɔfaa Edom apuei fam hye so kyeree nsraban wɔ Asubɔnten Arnon fa hɔ. Nanso wɔantwa Asubɔnten Arnon ankɔ Moab asase so.
Eventually the Israelites traveled through the desert, avoiding the lands of Edom and Moab. They arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they did not enter Moab territory, for the Arnon River was its border.
19 “Afei, Israelfo somaa abɔfo kɔɔ Amorihene Sihon a odii ade fi Hesbon na wɔsrɛɛ kwan sɛ wɔpɛ sɛ wɔfa nʼasase so kɔ baabi a wɔrekɔ no.
Then the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and asked him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our own country.’
20 Nanso esiane sɛ na ɔhene Sihon nni Israelfo mu gyidi nti ɔboaboaa ne dɔm ano wɔ Yahas ma wɔtow hyɛɛ wɔn so.
But Sihon didn't trust the Israelites to pass through his territory. So he assembled his army, set up camp at Jahaz, and attacked the Israelites.
21 “Na Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn, maa ne nkurɔfo dii ɔhene Sihon so. Enti Israelfo faa Amorifo asase a na wɔte so wɔ ɔmantam no mu,
However, the Lord, the God of Israel, handed over Sihon and all his people to the Israelites, who defeated them. So the Israelites took over all the land inhabited by the Amorites.
22 fi Asubɔnten Arnon de kosi Asubɔnten Yabok, fi sare no so de kosi Yordan nyinaa dii so.
They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the desert to the Jordan River.
23 “Enti moahu, ɛyɛ Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn na ogyee asase no fii Amorifo nsam na ɔde maa Israel. Adɛn na ɛsɛ sɛ yɛde ma mo?
It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who drove out the Amorites before his people Israel, so why should you take it over?
24 Nea mo nyame Kemos de maa mo no momfa, na yɛn nso, nea Awurade, yɛn Nyankopɔn de maa yɛn biara no yɛafa.
Why don't you keep whatever your god Chemosh gave you, and we'll keep whatever the Lord our God has given us?
25 So wosen Mosen, Sipor babarima Balak a na ɔyɛ Moabhene no? Ɔne Israel hamee anaa koe ana?
Do you think you're so much better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or attack them?
26 Na afei, mfe ahaasa akyi na woama saa asɛm yi so? Israel atena ha saa bere tenten yi, wɔatrɛw afi Hesbon asase so, akosi Aroer ne nkurow no nyinaa so, akɔfa Asubɔnten Arnon ano. Adɛn nti na mmere sann yi moanyɛ mo adwene sɛ mubegye asase yi?
Israelites have been living in Heshbon, Aroer, their villages, and in all the towns along the banks of the Arnon River for three hundred years. Why didn't you take them back during that time?
27 Menyɛɛ mo bɔne. Mmom, mo na moayɛ me bɔne sɛ motow hyɛɛ me so. Momma Awurade a ɔyɛ otemmufo no mmua nnɛ, sɛ yɛn mu hena na nʼasɛm yɛ dɛ? Israel anaa Amon.”
I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by going to war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
28 Nanso Amonhene amfa Yefta asɛm no asɛnhia.
But the king of Ammon didn't pay any attention to what Jephthah had to say.
29 Saa bere no, Awurade Honhom baa Yefta so maa ɔkɔɔ Gilead ne Manase nsase nyinaa so a, Mispa a ɛwɔ Gilead ka ho. Na odii asraafo anim tow hyɛɛ Amonfo so.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then on through Mizpah of Gilead. From there he advanced to attack the Ammonites.
30 Na Yefta hyɛɛ Awurade bɔ. Ɔkae se, “Sɛ woma midi Amonfo so a,
Jephthah made a solemn promise to the Lord, saying, “If you make me victorious over the Ammonites,
31 mede ade a ebedi kan afi me fi abehyia me bere a mede nkonimdi reba no, bɛma Awurade. Mede bɛma no sɛ ɔhyew afɔre.”
I will dedicate to the Lord whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the battle. I will present it as a burnt offering.”
32 Ɛnna Yefta dii nʼakofo anim tiaa Amonfo, na Awurade ma odii nkonim.
Jephthah advanced to attack the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him the victory over them.
33 Odii Amonfo so pasaa, sɛee nkurow bɛyɛ aduonu, fii Aroer de kosii baabi a ɛbɛn Minit, kɔe ara kosii Abel-Keramim. Saa kwan yi so na Israelfo fa kaa Amonfo hyɛe.
He soundly defeated them, capturing twenty cities from Aroer to the area around Minnith, up as far as Abel-keramim. This is how the Ammonites were conquered by the Israelites.
34 Bere a Yefta fi akono kɔɔ ne fi wɔ Mispa no, ne babea, a ɔyɛ ne ba koro no, tuu mmirika behyiaa no a ɔrebɔ akasae, na anigye nti, ɔresaw.
When Jephthah arrived home in Mizpah, there came his daughter out to meet him, with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child—he had no son or daughter apart from her.
35 Yefta huu no no, ɔde awerɛhow sunsuan ne ntade mu, teɛɛ mu se, “Ao, me ba! Woabrɛ me ase na matetew apansam. Na maka Awurade ntam na merentumi mmu so.”
The moment he saw her, he ripped his clothes in agony and cried out, “Oh no, my daughter! You have crushed me completely! You have destroyed me, for I made a solemn promise to the Lord and I can't go back on it.”
36 Ne babea no buae se, “Mʼagya, woahyɛ Awurade bɔ. Yɛ me sɛnea woahyɛ bɔ no, efisɛ Awurade ama woadi wʼatamfo a wɔyɛ Amonfo no so nkonim.
She replied, “Father, you have made a solemn promise to the Lord. Do to me what you promised, for the Lord brought vengeance your enemies, the Ammonites.”
37 Nanso nea edi kan no, ma memforo mmepɔw nkokyinkyin so na me ne me nnamfonom nsu asram abien, efisɛ mewu sɛ ababaa a minhuu ɔbarima da.”
Then she went on to say to him, “Just let me do this: let me walk through the hills for two months with my friends and grieve the fact that I'll never marry.”
38 Yefta ka kyerɛɛ no se, “Wutumi kɔ.” Enti ɔmaa no kɔ kodii asram abien. Ɔne ne nnamfonom kɔɔ mmepɔw no so kosui, efisɛ ɔrennya mma.
“You can go,” he told her. He sent her away for two months, and she and her friends went into the hills and cried because she would never marry.
39 Bere a ɔsan baa fie no, nʼagya dii ne bɔhyɛ so. Enti owui sɛ ababaa a onhuu ɔbarima da. Eyi abɛyɛ amanne wɔ Israel
When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had promised, and she was a virgin. This is the origin of the custom in Israel
40 ama Israel mmabun sɛ afe biara wɔbɛkɔ baabi akodi nnaanan na wɔakosu Yefta babea no nkrabea.
that every year the young women of Israel leave for four days to weep in commemoration of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
