2 Berɛsosɛm 31
1 Afei, ɛberɛ a afahyɛ no twaam no, Israelfoɔ a wɔkɔɔ bi no kɔɔ Yuda, Benyamin, Efraim ne Manase nkuro nyinaa so, kɔsɛee afadum kronkron no, twitwaa Asera afɔrebukyia no, yiyii abosonsomfoɔ asɔreeɛ ne afɔrebukyia no. Yei akyi, Israelfoɔ no sane kɔɔ wɔn nkuro so ne wɔn afie mu.
After the festival ended, the Israelis who were there went to all the towns in Judah and smashed the stones/pillars [for worshiping idols], and cut down the poles [for worshiping the goddess] Asherah. They destroyed the shrines on the hilltops and the altars [of Baal] throughout the areas where the tribes of Judah and Benjamin lived, and also in the areas of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. After destroying all of them, they returned to their own towns.
2 Afei, Hesekia kyekyɛɛ asɔfoɔ no ne Lewifoɔ no mu akuakuo, sɛ wɔmmɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ne asomdwoeɛ afɔdeɛ, sɛ wɔnsom, na wɔmfa aseda ne nkamfo mma Awurade wɔ Asɔredan no apono ano.
Hezekiah divided the priests and [other] descendants of Levi into groups. He appointed some of the groups to offer sacrifices that would be completely burned [on the altar] and offerings to maintain fellowship [with Yahweh]. He appointed some groups to do other work at the temple: some to lead the people in their worship, some to thank Yahweh, and some to sing songs to praise to Yahweh at the gates of the temple.
3 Ɔhene no ankasa maa ɔhyeɛ afɔrebɔdeɛ a wɔyɛ mmoa ma anɔpa ne anwummerɛ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ne nnawɔtwe homeda afahyɛ ne bosome Ɔbosome Foforɔ Afahyɛ no ne afirinhyia afɔdeɛ a aka no, sɛdeɛ Awurade mmara kyerɛ no.
The king contributed some of his own funds to buy animals that would be sacrificed in the morning and in the evening of each day, and on the Sabbath days, to celebrate the new moons, and during the other feasts, according to what was written in the laws [that Yahweh gave to Moses].
4 Ɛno akyi, ɔhwɛɛ sɛ nnipa a wɔwɔ Yerusalem no de deɛ wɔnya mu kyɛfa a mmara no ka no bɛma asɔfoɔ no ne Lewifoɔ no, sɛdeɛ ɛbɛma wɔde wɔn ho nyinaa ahyɛ Awurade mmara no mu.
Hezekiah told the people living in Jerusalem to give to the priests and the other descendants of Levi the portions [of meat] that should be given to them, in order that they could devote all their time to obeying the laws of Yahweh.
5 Nnipa no tiee no aso pa mu, na wɔfiri akoma pa mu de nnɔbaeɛ a ɛdi ɛkan a ɛyɛ atokoɔ, nsã foforɔ, ngo, ɛwoɔ ne wɔn mfudeɛ nyinaa baeɛ. Wɔde wɔn ahodeɛ biara mu ntotosoɔ dudu baeɛ.
As soon as he told that to the people, they generously gave the first part of their harvest of grain, and the first part of the new wine [that they produced], and [olive] oil and honey, and of the crops that grew in their fields. They brought [to the temple] a tenth of all their crops.
6 Nnipa a wɔtu firii Israel baa Yuda no ne Yudafoɔ no ankasa de wɔn anantwie ne wɔn nnwan so ntotosoɔ dudu ne nneɛma a wɔahyira so ama Awurade, wɔn Onyankopɔn no so ntotosoɔ dudu baeɛ. Wɔboaa ano ma ɛyɛɛ akuakuo akɛseakɛseɛ.
The men of Israel and Judah who were living in various towns in Judah also brought a tenth of their cattle and sheep and goats, and a tenth of other things that they had dedicated to Yahweh their God, and they piled all those things in heaps.
7 Wɔde saa ntotosoɔ dudu a ɛdi ɛkan no baa bosome a ɛtɔ so mmiɛnsa no awieeɛ mu, na nneɛma no anoboa kɔɔ so kɔsii bosome a ɛtɔ so nson no ahyɛaseɛ mu.
They started to do that in May and finished doing it in September.
8 Ɛberɛ a Hesekia ne ne mpanimfoɔ bɛhunuu nneɛma dodoɔ no, wɔdaa Awurade ne ne nkurɔfoɔ Israel ase.
When Hezekiah and his officials saw the heaps, they praised Yahweh and [requested God to] bless the people.
9 Hesekia bisaa asɔfoɔ no ne Lewifoɔ no sɛ, “Ɛhe na yeinom nyinaa firi baeɛ?”
But Hezekiah asked the priests and other descendants of Levi, “Why are these heaps of things here?”
10 Na ɔsɔfopanin Asaria a ɔfiri Sadok abusua mu buaa sɛ, “Ɛfiri ɛberɛ a ɔmanfoɔ firii aseɛ sɛ wɔde akyɛdeɛ reba Awurade Asɔredan mu no, yɛanya bebree a yɛbɛdi ama ebi aka, ɛfiri sɛ, Awurade ahyira ne nkurɔfoɔ.”
Then Azariah the [Supreme] Priest, a descendant of Zadok, replied, “Since the time that the people started to bring their offerings to the temple, we have had even more food than we need. This has happened because Yahweh has greatly blessed our fellow Israelis, with the result that all this is left over [after we priests and other descendants of Levi took all that we need]!”
11 Hesekia yɛɛ nʼadwene sɛ ɔbɛnya adekoradan wɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu, na wɔyɛeɛ.
Then Hezekiah ordered that they should prepare storerooms in the temple. So they did that.
12 Na wɔdii nokorɛ de akyɛdeɛ no ne ntotosoɔ dudu no nyinaa baa Asɔredan no mu. Wɔde hyɛɛ Lewini Kenania nsa maa ne nua Simei yɛɛ ne ɔboafoɔ.
Then they brought into the storerooms all the tithes and offerings and the things dedicated to Yahweh [which the people had brought]. One of the descendants of Levi whose name was Conaniah was in charge of those things, and his [younger] brother Shimei was his assistant.
13 Sohwɛfoɔ a na wɔhyɛ wɔn ase no ne Yehiel, Asasia, Nahat, Asahel, Yerimot, Yosabad, Eliel, Ismakia, Mahat ne Benaia. Ɔhene Hesekia ne Asaria a ɔyɛ Onyankopɔn Asɔredan no mu sohwɛfoɔ panin no na wɔkyekyɛɛ saa dibea ahodoɔ yi.
Those two men supervised Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah while they did the work. They were appointed by King Hezekiah; Azariah was in charge of [everything that was done in] the temple.
14 Lewini Yimna babarima Kore a ɔyɛ Apueeɛ Ɛpono ano hwɛfoɔ no na wɔde hyɛɛ ne nsa sɛ, ɔnkyekyɛ Onyankopɔn ayamyɛ afɔrebɔdeɛ a ɛyɛ akyɛdeɛ ne nneɛma a wɔde ama Awurade no.
Kore the son of Imnah, another descendant of Levi, who guarded the east gate of the temple, was in charge of the offerings to God that were made voluntarily. He distributed to the priests and [other] descendants of Levi the offerings and other things that were dedicated to Yahweh.
15 Nʼaboafoɔ nokwafoɔ no ne Eden, Miniamin, Yesua, Semaia, Amaria ne Sekania. Na wɔkyekyɛɛ nneɛma no maa asɔfoɔ mmusua a wɔwɔ wɔn nkuro so sɛdeɛ wɔn nkyekyɛmu teɛ, na wɔkyɛɛ nneɛma no pɛpɛɛpɛ maa mmɔfra ne mpanin.
Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in the towns where the priests lived. They distributed those things to the groups of their fellow priests; they distributed them to everyone, from the youngest to the oldest.
16 Na wɔkyɛɛ mmarimaa a wɔadi mfeɛ mmiɛnsa rekɔ nyinaa akyɛdeɛ no bi a wɔn din wɔ wɔn abusuadua nwoma mu, a nso da biara wɔkɔ Awurade Asɔredan mu, kɔyɛ wɔn nnwuma a wɔde ahyɛ wɔn ekuo no nsa.
They also distributed things to the males who were at least 30 years old, those whose names were written on the scrolls where lists of family names were written. They were males who [were allowed to] enter the temple to perform their tasks/work each day, the tasks that each group had been assigned to do.
17 Na wɔkyɛɛ nneɛma no maa asɔfoɔ a wɔatwerɛ wɔn din wɔ wɔn abusuadua nwoma mu ne Lewifoɔ a wɔadi mfeɛ aduonu ne deɛ ɛboro saa, a wɔahyehyɛ wɔn din sɛdeɛ wɔn nnwuma ne wɔn nkyekyɛmu teɛ.
The names of the priests were on the scrolls where their clans’ names were written. They also distributed things to groups of [other] descendants of Levi, those who were at least 20 years old.
18 Na wɔmaa mmusuafoɔ a wɔatwerɛ wɔn din wɔ abusuadua nwoma mu a mmadoma, ɔyerenom ne mmammarima ne mmammaa nso ka ho nnuane, sɛ wɔn kyɛfa. Ɛfiri sɛ na wɔadi nokorɛ adwira wɔn ho.
They included all their little children and wives and other sons and daughters whose names were on the scrolls where their clans’ names were written, because they also faithfully had dedicated themselves to Yahweh.
19 Na asɔfoɔ, Aaron asefoɔ a na wɔtete nkuraa a atwa nkuro no ho ahyia no, wɔyiyii nnipa ma wɔkyɛɛ ɔbarima biara a ɔfra asɔfoɔ no mu ne Lewifoɔ a wɔatwerɛ wɔn din wɔ abusuadua mu no nneɛma no bi.
[Hezekiah] also appointed other men to distribute portions of those offerings to the priests and other descendants of Levi who were living in the pasturelands around the towns in Judah. But they gave things only to those who were descendants of Aaron [the first Supreme Priest], whose names were on the scrolls containing the names of their clans.
20 Saa ɛkwan yi so na Hesekia fa kyɛɛ nneɛma wɔ Yudaman no mu nyinaa, na ɔyɛɛ deɛ ɛfata na ɛsɔ Awurade, ne Onyankopɔn ani.
That is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He always faithfully did things that Yahweh his God considered to be right and good.
21 Deɛ Hesekia yɛeɛ nyinaa de som wɔ Onyankopɔn Asɔredan no mu, ne mmɔden a ɔbɔɔ sɛ ɔbɛdi ne mmara ne nʼahyɛdeɛ so no, ɔde nʼakoma nyinaa hwehwɛɛ ne Onyankopɔn. Ne saa enti, ɛmaa ɔnyaa nkɔsoɔ bebree.
In everything that he did for the worship in the temple, and as he obeyed God’s laws and commands, he tried to find out what his God wanted, and he worked energetically. So he was successful.
