1 Samuel 6
1 Awurade Apam Adaka no dii Filistifoɔ asase so abosome nson.
When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months,
2 Na Filistifoɔ no frɛɛ wɔn asɔfoɔ ne wɔn nsamanfrɛfoɔ bisaa wɔn sɛ, “Ɛdeɛn na yɛnyɛ Awurade Apam Adaka yi? Monkyerɛ yɛn ɛkwan a yɛmfa so nsane mfa nkɔ asase a ɛfiri soɔ no so.”
the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.”
3 Wɔka kyerɛɛ wɔn sɛ, “Monsane mfa Israel Onyankopɔn Apam Adaka no nkɔ baabi a mokɔfaa no, na momfa akyɛdeɛ nka ho. Momfa afɔdie afɔdeɛ nka ho, na ama ɔyaredɔm no agyae. Na sɛ ɔyaredɔm no annyae a, ɛbɛma moahunu sɛ ɛnyɛ Onyankopɔn na ɔde baeɛ.”
They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”
4 Wɔbisaa sɛ, “Ɛnneɛ, na afɔdie afɔdeɛ bɛn na yɛmfa nkɔ?” Na wɔka kyerɛɛ wɔn sɛ, “Esiane sɛ ɔyaredɔm no abɔ mo ne mo sodifoɔ baanum enti, monyɛ sikakɔkɔɔ te sɛ mpɔmpɔ sɛso enum ne sikakɔkɔɔ akusie sɛso enum te sɛ deɛ sodifoɔ no dodoɔ teɛ.
“What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
5 Monyɛ saa nneɛma yi nyinaa fa nkyerɛ anidie a mowɔ ma Israel Onyankopɔn. Na ebia, ɔbɛgyae mo, mo anyame ne mo asase amanehunu no.
Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land.
6 Monnyɛ asoɔden, nnyɛ adɔnyɛfoɔ, sɛdeɛ Farao ne Misraimfoɔ yɛeɛ no. Wɔamma Israelfoɔ ankɔ kɔsii sɛ Onyankopɔn maa ɔyaredɔm te guu wɔn so.
Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people on their way as they departed?
7 “Afei, monyɛ teaseɛnam foforɔ, na monhwehwɛ anantwibereɛ mmienu a afei na wɔawo mma foforɔ. Monhwɛ sɛ wɔntwee teaseɛnam da. Momfa anantwie no nsesa teaseɛnam no na montete wɔn mma no mfiri wɔn ho, mfa wɔn nkɔgu wɔn buo mu.
Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
8 Momfa Awurade Apam Adaka no nsi teaseɛnam no mu, na momfa adakawa a sikakɔkɔɔ akusie sɛso ne sikakɔkɔɔ mpɔmpɔ sɛso wɔ mu no nsi nkyɛn. Afei, momma anantwie no nkɔ baabiara a wɔpɛ.
Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way,
9 Na sɛ wɔtra yɛn asase hyeɛ, na wɔkɔduru Bet-Semes a, ɛbɛma yɛahunu sɛ, ɛyɛ Awurade na ɔde saa amanehunu kɛseɛ yi baa yɛn so. Na sɛ amma no saa a, yɛbɛhunu sɛ saa ɔyaredɔm a ɛbaa yɛn so no yɛ akwanhyia bi, na mmom, ɛmfiri Awurade, ɛkwan biara so.”
but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
10 Wɔyɛɛ saa. Wɔfaa anantwie mmienu a wɔawo foforɔ de wɔn saa teaseɛnam no so, na wɔde wɔn mma no guu buo mu.
So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves.
11 Wɔde Awurade Apam Adaka no sii teaseɛnam no mu. Wɔde adakawa a sikakɔkɔɔ akusie sɛso ne sikakɔkɔɔ mpɔmpɔ sɛso wɔ mu no sii ho.
Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.
12 Afei, anantwie no de su faa tempɔn a ɛkɔ Bet-Semes no so tee. Filistifoɔ sodifoɔ dii wɔn akyi ara kɔsii Bet-Semes hyeɛ so.
And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Saa ɛberɛ no, na Bet-Semesfoɔ retwa wɔn atokoɔ wɔ bɔnhwa no mu. Enti, wɔpagyaa wɔn ani hunuu Adaka no, wɔdii ahurisie.
Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
14 Teaseɛnam no kɔduruu ɔbarima bi a wɔfrɛ no Yosua a ɔfiri Bet-Semes afuo mu no, ɛgyinaa ɔbotan kɛseɛ bi ho. Nnipa no twitwaa nnua a wɔde yɛɛ teaseɛnam no mu. Na wɔde anantwie no bɔɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ maa Awurade.
The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
15 Lewifoɔ no mu bebree faa adaka no ne adakawa a sika agudeɛ wɔ mu no, na wɔde guu ɔbotan kɛseɛ no so. Saa ɛda no, Bet-Semesfoɔ bɔɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ne aduane afɔdeɛ bebree maa Awurade.
And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
16 Filistifoɔ sodifoɔ baanum no hwɛɛ yeinom nyinaa, na ɛda no ara, wɔsane kɔɔ Ekron.
And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.
17 Sikakɔkɔɔ mpɔmpɔ sɛso a Filistifoɔ no de kɔɔ sɛ asodie afɔdeɛ, de maa Awurade no yɛ akyɛdeɛ a ɛfiri Asdod, Gasa, Askelon, Gat ne Ekron sodifoɔ nkyɛn.
As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
18 Sikakɔkɔɔ akusie sɛso enum no nso gyina hɔ ma Filistifoɔ nkuropɔn enum no ne nkurotoɔ a atwa ho ahyia no a na sodifoɔ baanum no hwɛ so no. Ɔbotan kɛseɛ a na ɛwɔ Bet-Semes a wɔde Awurade Apam Adaka no siiɛ no nso da so tim Yosua afuom bɛsi ɛnnɛ sɛ nkaedeɛ a ɛkyerɛ asɛm a ɛsii hɔ no.
The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 Na Awurade kunkumm Bet-Semesfoɔ no mmarima aduɔson sɛ wɔahwɛ Awurade Apam Adaka no mu. Na deɛ Awurade yɛeɛ no enti, nnipa no twaa agyaadwoɔ pa ara.
But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
20 Wɔsu bisaa sɛ, “Hwan na ɔbɛtumi agyina Awurade, Ɔkronkronni Onyankopɔn anim? Ɛhe na yɛbɛtumi de adaka yi afiri ha akɔ?”
The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
21 Enti, wɔsomaa abɔfoɔ kɔɔ Kiriat-Yearimfoɔ nkyɛn kɔka kyerɛɛ wɔn sɛ, “Filistifoɔ no asane de Awurade Apam Adaka no aba. Yɛsrɛ mo, mommra ha mmɛgye!”
So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”
