1 Ahemfo 9
1 Ɛberɛ a Salomo wiee Awurade asɔredan no ne ahemfie no sie no, ɔhunuu sɛ wayɛ deɛ ɔpɛ sɛ ɔyɛ no nyinaa awie.
After Solomon’s [workers] had finished building the temple and his palace and everything else that Solomon wanted them to build,
2 Awurade daa ne ho adi kyerɛɛ no ne mprenu so, sɛdeɛ na wada ne ho adi akyerɛ no wɔ Gibeon dada no.
Yahweh appeared to him [in a dream] a second time, like he had appeared to him at [the city of] Gibeon.
3 Awurade ka kyerɛɛ no sɛ: “Mate wo mpaeɛbɔ ne wʼadesrɛ. Mate saa asɔredan yi a woasi no ho, sɛdeɛ wɔbɛhyɛ me din animuonyam wɔ hɔ afebɔɔ. Mɛhwɛ so na mama mʼani aku ho.
Yahweh said to him, “I heard what you prayed and what you pleaded for me to do. I have set apart/dedicated this temple which your [workers] have built to be the place where people will worship me forever. I will always watch over it and protect it.
4 “Na wo, sɛ wode nokorɛ ne nyamesuro di mʼakyi, sɛdeɛ wʼagya Dawid yɛeɛ, na ɔdii me mmara ne mʼahyɛdeɛ nyinaa so no a,
“And as for you, if you conduct your life as I want you to, like your father David did, and if you very sincerely obey all the statutes and laws that I have commanded you to obey,
5 mɛtim wʼahennie nnidisoɔ ase wɔ Israel afebɔɔ, sɛdeɛ meka kyerɛɛ wʼagya Dawid sɛ, ‘Ɛremma sɛ worennya ɔbarima bi nntena Israel ahennwa no so da no.’
I will do what I promised your father that I would do: I promised him that Israel would always be ruled by his descendants.
6 “Na sɛ wo anaa wo mmammarima dane firi me ho, na wɔbu me mmara ne mʼahyɛdeɛ a mede ama mo no so, na sɛ wɔfiri akyire kɔsom anyame afoforɔ sɔre wɔn a,
“But if you or your descendants turn away from me and disobey the commands and decrees that I have given to you, and if you start to worship other gods,
7 ɛnneɛ, mɛtwa Israel afiri asase a mede ama wɔn no so, na mapo saa asɔredan a mate ho wɔ me din mu no. Ɛbɛma Israel atɔ sin, na ayɛ aseredeɛ wɔ nnipa nyinaa mu.
I will remove my Israeli people from the land that I have given to them. I will also abandon this temple that I have set apart/dedicated to be the place where people should worship me. Then people everywhere will despise [the people of] Israel and make fun of them.
8 Na ɛwom sɛ saa Asɔredan yi yɛ fɛ deɛ, nanso, wɔn a wɔbɛtwam wɔ ho no bɛtwiri no, adi ho abooboo, abisa sɛ, ‘Adɛn enti na Awurade ayɛ asase yi ne Asɔredan yi saa?’
This temple will become a heap of ruins. Everyone who passes by will be astonished [when they see it], and they will be shocked and say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this temple?’
9 Nnipa bɛbua sɛ, ‘Ɛfiri sɛ, wɔapa Awurade, wɔn Onyankopɔn, a ɔyii wɔn agyanom firii Misraim no akyi, na wɔde wɔn ho akɔdan anyame afoforɔ a wɔresom wɔn, sɔre wɔn. Ɛno enti na Awurade ama saa ɔhaw ne abɛbrɛsɛ yi aba wɔn so no.’”
And other people will reply, ‘It happened because the Israeli people abandoned Yahweh their God, the one who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They started to accept and worship other gods. And that is why Yahweh has caused them to experience all these disasters.’”
10 Mfeɛ aduonu a Salomo de sii Awurade asɔredan no ne ahemfie no akyi,
Solomon’s [workers] labored for 20 years to build the temple and the palace.
11 ɔhene Salomo de nkurotoɔ aduonu a ɛwɔ Galilea maa Tirohene Huram, ɛfiri sɛ, Huram maa no ntweneduro nnua ne pepeaa nnua ne sikakɔkɔɔ a na ɔhia.
Hiram, the king of Tyre had [arranged for his workers to] give Solomon all the cedar and pine [logs] and all the gold that he needed [for this work]. After it was all finished, King Solomon gave to Hiram 20 cities in the Galilee region.
12 Huram firii Tiro kɔhwɛɛ nkuro a Salomo de ama no no, nanso nʼani ansɔ koraa.
But when Hiram went from Tyre [to Galilee] to see the cities that Solomon had given to him, he was not pleased with them.
13 Ɔbisaa sɛ, “Me nua, na nkuro bɛn na wode ama me yi? Saa nkuro yi nni mu!” Enti, ɔfrɛɛ hɔ Kabul, “Deɛ ɛnni mu” de bɛsi ɛnnɛ.
He said to Solomon, “My friend, those cities that you gave me are worthless!” So, that area is still called ‘Worthless’.
14 Na Huram asoma ma wɔde sikakɔkɔɔ tɔno 4 akɔma Salomo.
Hiram paid Solomon only five tons of gold [for those cities].
15 Ɛkwan a ɔhene Salomo faa so tintim, hyɛɛ nnipa, ma wɔsii Awurade asɔredan no ne nʼahemfie, Milo, Yerusalem ɔfasuo ne Hasor, Megido ne Geser nkuro no nie:
This is a record of the work that King Solomon forced men to do. He forced them to build the temple and his palace and the terraces/landfills [on the east side of the city], and the wall around Jerusalem, and [to rebuild the cities of] Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer.
16 Misraimhene kɔtuaa Geser, gyee hɔ faeɛ. Ɔkumm Kanaanfoɔ a wɔte kuro no mu nyinaa, hyee hɔ pasaa. Ɔde kuropɔn no maa ne babaa no sɛ akyɛdeɛ ɛberɛ a ɔwaree Salomo no.
[The reason they needed to rebuild Gezer was that the army of] the king of Egypt had attacked Gezer and captured it. Then they had burned [the houses in] the city and killed all the people of the Canaan people-group who lived there. The king of Egypt gave that city to his daughter as a gift when she married Solomon.
17 Enti, Salomo sane kyekyeree Geser kuropɔn no. Afei, ɔsane kyekyeree nkuro a ɛwɔ Bet-Horon anafoɔ,
So Solomon’s workers also rebuilt Gezer, and they also rebuilt Lower Beth-Horon [city].
18 Baalat ne Tamar wɔ ɛserɛ so, nʼasase so.
They also rebuilt Baalath and Tamar [towns] in the desert in [the southern part of] Judah.
19 Ɔkyekyeree nkuro a na wɔkora nnuane wɔ hɔ, kyekyeree nkuropɔn nso a na wɔkora ne nteaseɛnam ne nʼapɔnkɔ wɔ hɔ. Ɔkyekyeree Yerusalem ne Lebanon ne nʼahemman nyinaa, sɛdeɛ nʼakoma pɛ.
They also built cities where they kept the supplies for Solomon, the places where his horses and chariots were kept. They also built everything else that Solomon wanted them to build, in Jerusalem and in Lebanon, and in other places in the area over which he ruled.
20 Na nnipa bi da so te asase no so a wɔnyɛ Israelfoɔ. Wɔne Amorifoɔ, Hetifoɔ, Perisifoɔ, Hewifoɔ ne Yebusifoɔ.
There were many people who belonged to the Amor people-group, the Heth people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group who were not killed when the Israelis captured their land.
21 Yeinom ne aman a na Israel nwiee wɔn asetɔre korakora no asefoɔ. Enti, Salomo hyɛɛ wɔn ma wɔyɛɛ nʼadwumayɛfoɔ, na wɔda so yɛ de bɛsi ɛnnɛ.
[Their descendants still lived in Israel]. It was those people whom Solomon forced to become his slaves [to build all those places], and they are still slaves.
22 Nanso, Salomo anhyɛ Israelfoɔ amma wɔanyɛ ɔhyɛ nnwuma. Mmom, ɔmaa wɔyɛɛ asraafoɔ, aban adwumayɛfoɔ. Ɔmaa ebinom yɛɛ nʼakodɔm, ne nteaseɛnam ne ne nteaseɛnamkafoɔ so asahene.
But Solomon did not force any Israeli people to become slaves. Some Israelis became soldiers and army officers and commanders and drivers of his chariots and soldiers who rode on horses.
23 Afei, ɔyii wɔn mu ahanum ne aduonum maa wɔhwɛɛ ne nkɔso nnwuma ahodoɔ so.
There were 550 officials who supervised the slaves who worked [to build all those places].
24 Ɛberɛ a Salomo yii ne yere a ɛyɛ Farao babaa no firii Dawid kuro no mu, de no kɔɔ ahemfie foforɔ a wasi ama no no mu no, ɔsii Milo.
After [Solomon’s wife, who was] the daughter of the king of Egypt, moved from [the place outside Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’ to the palace that Solomon’s workers built for her, Solomon [told his workers to] fill in the slopes on the east side of the city.
25 Afe biara mu, na Salomo bɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ne asomdwoeɛ afɔdeɛ ma Awurade wɔ afɔrebukyia a ɔsiiɛ no so mprɛnsa. Na ɔhye aduhwam nso ma Awurade. Enti, ɔde wiee asɔredan no si.
Three times each year Solomon [brought to the temple] offerings that were completely burned [on the altar] and offerings to restore fellowship with Yahweh. He also brought incense to be burned in the presence of Yahweh. And so his men finished building the temple.
26 Akyire no, ɔhene Salomo yɛɛ ɛpo so ahyɛn wɔ Esion-Geber, hyɛngyinabea a ɛbɛn Elot a ɛwɔ Edom asase so hɔ a ɛwɔ Ɛpo Kɔkɔɔ no mpoano.
King Solomon’s [workers] also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-Geber [city], which is near Elath [city], on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the land belonging to the Edom people-group.
27 Na Huram maa nʼahyɛn mu adwumayɛfoɔ a wɔnim hyɛn mu adwuma yie no, ne Salomo nkurɔfoɔ de ahyɛn no yɛɛ adwuma.
[King] Hiram sent some very expert sailors to work on the ships with Solomon’s workers.
28 Wɔyɛɛ adwuma kɔɔ Ofir, na wɔsane de sikakɔkɔɔ tɔno 16 brɛɛ Salomo.
They sailed to [the] Ophir [region] and brought back to Solomon about 16 tons of gold.
