4 Mose 25
1 Bere a Israelfo no tenaa Sitim no, wɔn mu mmarima no bi fii ase ne Moab mmea no bɔɔ aguaman de guu wɔn ho fi.
While the Israelis were camped at a place called Acacia [Grove], some of the men caused themselves to become unacceptable to God by having sex with some of the women of the Moab [people-group who lived in that area].
2 Saa mmea yi too nsa frɛɛ wɔn ma wɔkɔbɔɔ afɔre maa wɔn anyame. Wodii Moabfo anyame so afɔrebɔ nnuan na wɔkotow wɔn nso.
Then those women invited the men to come when the sacrifices were being offered to their gods. The Israeli men [accepted]. They went to the feasts with the women and worshiped the gods of the Moab people-group.
3 Enti Baal a ɛwɔ Peor no som bɛyɛɛ ɔhyɛ maa Israelfo. Eyi maa Awurade bo fuw ne nkurɔfo no yiye.
By doing that, those Israeli people joined the women in worshiping the god Baal [add] the Moab people-group thought lived on Peor Mountain. That caused Yahweh to become very angry with his people.
4 Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Mose se, “Fa saa nnipa yi ntuanofo no nyinaa, kunkum wɔn na fa wɔn gu owia so wɔ Awurade anim sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a, nʼabufuwhyew no befi Israel so.”
Yahweh said this to Moses/me: “Seize all the leaders of those men who are doing this and execute them while I am watching. Do that in the daytime. After you do that, I will no longer be angry with the Israeli people.”
5 Enti Mose ka kyerɛɛ Israel atemmufo no no se, “Ɛsɛ sɛ mo mu biara kunkum mo nkurɔfo a wɔde wɔn ho akɔhyɛ Baal a ɛwɔ Peor no ase no nyinaa.”
So Moses/I said to the other Israeli leaders, “Each of you must execute your men who have joined [others] in worshiping Baal.”
6 Na Israelni bi de Midiani bea bi baa wɔn atenae hɔ maa Mose ne nnipa no nyinaa huu wɔn bere a na wogyinagyina Ahyiae Ntamadan pon no ano retwa adwo no.
[But later], while Moses/I and many [HYP] other people were crying at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, while they/we were watching, one of the Israeli men brought a woman from the Midian people-group into his tent [and started to have sex with her].
7 Bere a Pinehas a ɔyɛ Eleasar babarima a na ɔyɛ ɔsɔfo Aaron nena huu eyi no, ofii wɔn mu, kɔfaa peaw kitae;
When Phinehas, who was the grandson of Aaron, saw that, he grabbed a spear
8 na odii Israelni no akyi kɔɔ ntamadan no mu. Ɔde peaw no wɔɔ ɔbarima no san de wɔɔ ɔbea no yafunu mu. Enti ɔyaredɔm a na aba Israelfo no so no to twae;
and rushed into the man’s tent. He thrust the spear completely through the man’s body and into the woman’s belly [and killed both of them]. When he did that, the (plague/serious illness) [that had started to strike the Israelis] stopped.
9 nanso saa bere no, na nnipa mpem aduonu anan awuwu dedaw.
But 24,000 people had already died [from that plague].
10 Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Mose se,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
11 “Eleasar babarima Pinehas a ɔyɛ ɔsɔfo Aaron nena ayi mʼabufuw afi Israelfo no so. Esiane sɛ wako apere mʼanuonyam wɔ wɔn mu sɛnea mepɛ ayɛ no nti, sɛnea meyɛɛ mʼadwene sɛ mɛsɛe Israelfo no, magyae.
“Phinehas has caused me to stop being angry with the Israeli people, by being as eager as I am [to stop this sinful behavior]. I was ready to get rid of all the Israeli people because I was extremely angry, but Phinehas has prevented me from doing that.
12 Enti ka kyerɛ no se, me ne no rebɛyɛ asomdwoe apam.
Now tell him that I am making a special peace agreement with him.
13 Saa apam yi mu, ɔno ne nʼasefo bɛyɛ asɔfo afebɔɔ, efisɛ watwe me ho ninkunu wɔ Israelfo mu de ayɛ mpata ama wɔn.”
In this agreement, I am promising to give to him and to his descendants the right/authority to be priests. I am doing this because [he showed that] he was very eager to honor me, his God, by stopping this sinful behavior. He has caused the Israeli people to become acceptable to me again by causing them to be forgiven for their sin.”
14 Ɔbarima a wokum no ne Midiani bea no, na ne din de Simri a na ɔyɛ Salu a otua Simeon abusuakuw ano no babarima.
The Israeli man who was killed with the woman of the Moab people-group was named Zimri. He was the son of Salu, who was the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon.
15 Ɔbea no nso, na ne din de Kosbi a na ɔyɛ Midianhene babarima Sur babea.
The woman’s name was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, who was the leader of one of the clans of the Midian people-group.
16 Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Mose se,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
17 “Tow hyɛ Midianfo no so sɛ atamfo na kunkum wɔn.
“[Take your men and] attack the Midian people-group and kill them.
18 Efisɛ wɔfaa mo sɛ atamfo, na wɔdaadaa mo ma mo som Baal a ɛwɔ Peor, ne Kosbi a ɔyɛ Midian ntuanoni babea, a wokum no wɔ Peor ɔyaredɔm da no.”
They have become your enemies, because they tricked you Israeli people and induced/persuaded many of you to worship Baal, and because [one of your men had sex with] Cozbi, who was the daughter of a leader of the Midian people-group. She was killed at the time the plague [started because the people sinned] at Peor [Mountain].”
