2 Ahemfo 19
1 Ɛberɛ a ɔhene Hesekia tee yeinom no, ɔsunsuanee ne ntadeɛ mu, ɛnna ɔfiraa ayitoma, na ɔkɔɔ Awurade asɔredan mu.
And when king Hezekiah had heard this, he tore his garments, and he covered himself with sackcloth, and he entered the house of the Lord.
2 Na ɔsomaa ahemfie sohwɛfoɔ Eliakim, ɔtwerɛfoɔ Sebna ne asɔfoɔ mpanin a wɔn nyinaa hyehyɛ ayitadeɛ kɔɔ Amos babarima odiyifoɔ Yesaia nkyɛn.
And he sent Eliakim, the first ruler of the house, and Shebnah, the scribe, and the elders from the priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
3 Wɔka kyerɛɛ no sɛ, “Sɛdeɛ ɔhene Hesekia ka nie: Saa ɛda yi yɛ ɔhaw, animka ne animguaseɛ da. Ayɛ te sɛ deɛ mmɔfra awoɔ duru so na ahoɔden a wɔde bɛwo wɔn nni hɔ.
And they said to him: “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy. The sons are ready to be born, but the woman in labor does not have the strength.
4 Nanso, ebia Awurade, mo Onyankopɔn ate sɛ Asiria ɔnanmusini no regu Onyankopɔn teasefoɔ no anim ase, na wɔbɛtwe nʼaso wɔ ne nsɛnkeka no ho. Enti mommɔ mpaeɛ mma nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔte nkwa mu no.”
Perhaps the Lord, your God, may hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians, his lord, sent so that he would reproach the living God, and rebuke with words, which the Lord, your God, has heard. And so, offer a prayer on behalf of the remnant that has been found.”
5 Na ɔhene Hesekia mpanimfoɔ no kɔkaa ɔhene nkra no kyerɛɛ Yesaia,
And the servants of king Hezekiah went to Isaiah.
6 na Yesaia buaa sɛ, “Ka kyerɛ wo wura sɛ, ‘Sɛdeɛ Awurade seɛ nie: Mma abususɛm a Asiriahene asomafoɔ no ka tiaa me no nha wo.
And Isaiah said to them: “So shall you say to your lord. Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid before the face of the words that you have heard, by which the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed me.
7 Montie! Mede honhom bi rebɛhyɛ ne mu, sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a sɛ ɔte asɛm bi a ɔbɛsane akɔ ne ɔman mu, na ɛhɔ na mɛma wɔde akofena akum no.’”
Behold, I will send a spirit to him, and he will hear a report, and he will return to his own land. And I will bring him down by the sword in his own land.”
8 Ɛberɛ a ɔsahene no tee sɛ Asiriahene afiri Lakis no, ɔsanee nʼakyi kɔhunuu sɛ ɔhene no ne Libna reko.
Then Rabshakeh returned, and he found the king of the Assyrians fighting against Libnah. For he had heard that he had withdrawn from Lachish.
9 Ankyɛre, ɔhene Sanaherib nyaa nkra sɛ, Etiopiahene Tirhaka adi akodɔm anim, rebɛko atia no. Na ansa na ɔbɛsane akohyia akodɔm no, ɔtoo saa nkra yi sɛ wɔmfa nkɔma Hesekia wɔ Yerusalem.
And when he had heard from Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, saying, “Behold, he has gone out so that he may fight against you,” and when he went forth against him, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying:
10 “Monka nkyerɛ Yudahene Hesekia sɛ: Ɛmma onyame a wode wo ho ato no so no nnaadaa mo nka sɛ, ‘Asiriahene rentumi mfa Yerusalem.’
“So shall you say to Hezekiah, the king of Judah: Let not your God, in whom you trust, lead you astray. And you should not say, ‘Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.’
11 Moate deɛ Asiria ahemfo ayɛ amanaman no nyinaa. Wɔasɛe wɔn pasaa. Na mo deɛ wɔbɛgye mo anaa?
For you yourself have heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done to all the lands, the manner in which they have laid waste to them. Therefore, how would you alone be able to be freed?
12 Anyame a wɔwɔ aman a me nananom sɛee wɔn no, aman te sɛ Gosan, Haran, Resef ne Edenfoɔ a na wɔwɔ Telasar no anyame gyee wɔn anaa?
Have the gods of the nations freed any of those whom my fathers have destroyed, such as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who were at Telassar?
13 Ɛhe na Hamathene ne Arpadhene, kuropɔn Sefarwaim anaa Hena anaa Iwa ahemfo no wɔ?”
Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena, and of Avva?”
14 Hesekia nsa kaa krataa a abɔfoɔ no de baeɛ no, ɔkenkaneeɛ. Afei ɔforo kɔɔ Awurade asɔredan no mu kɔtrɛɛ mu wɔ Awurade anim.
And so, when Hezekiah had received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and had read it, he ascended to the house of the Lord, and he spread it out before the Lord.
15 Na Hesekia bɔɔ mpaeɛ kyerɛɛ Awurade sɛ: “Ao, Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn a wodi ɔhene firi Kerubim ntam, wo nko ara na woyɛ Onyankopɔn wɔ asase so ahennie nyinaa so. Wo na wobɔɔ ɔsoro ne asase.
And he prayed in his sight, saying: “O Lord, God of Israel, who sits upon the cherubim, you alone are God, over all the kings of the earth. You made heaven and earth.
16 Brɛ wʼaso ase, Ao Awurade, na tie! Bue wʼani, Ao Awurade, na hwɛ! Tie Sanaherib nsɛm a ɔka de bu Onyankopɔn teasefoɔ no animtiaa.
Incline your ear, and listen. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib, who sent so that he might reproach the living God before us.
17 “Awurade, ɛyɛ nokorɛ sɛ Asiria ahemfo asɛe aman yi nyinaa, sɛdeɛ nkra no ka no.
Truly, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have devastated all peoples and lands.
18 Na wɔato aman yi anyame agu ogya mu, ahye wɔn. Asiriafoɔ no tumi sɛe wɔn ɛfiri sɛ na wɔnyɛ anyame koraa. Na wɔyɛ nnua ne aboɔ ahoni a nnipa de wɔn nsa ayɛ.
And they have cast their gods into the fire. For they were not gods, but instead were the works of men’s hands, out of wood and stone. And so they destroyed them.
19 Afei, Ao Awurade, yɛn Onyankopɔn, gye yɛn firi ne tumi ase, na ɛbɛma ahennie a ɛwɔ asase so nyinaa ahunu sɛ wo nko ara, Ao Awurade, na woyɛ Onyankopɔn.”
Now therefore, O Lord our God, bring us salvation from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord God.”
20 Na Amos babarima Yesaia too saa nkra yi kɔmaa Hesekia sɛ, “Sɛdeɛ Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn, seɛ nie: ‘Mate wo mpaeɛbɔ a ɛfa Asiriahene Sanaherib ho no.
Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard what you beseeched from me, concerning Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians.
21 Yei ne asɛm a Awurade aka atia no: “‘Ɔbabaabunu Sion sopa wo, na ɔsere wo. Ɔbabaa Yerusalem di wo ho fɛ, na ɔwoso ne ti ɛberɛ a woredwane.
This is the word that the Lord has spoken about him: The virgin daughter of Zion has spurned and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind your back.
22 Hwan na wasopa no na woagu ne ho fi yi? Hwan na woama wo nne so atia no na wohwɛɛ no ahantan so? Ɛyɛ Israel ɔkronkronni no!
Whom have you reproached, and whom have you blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 Wonam wʼasomafoɔ so adi Awurade ho fɛw. Na woaka sɛ, “Mede me nteaseɛnam bebrebe no adi bepɔ tentene pa ara so, aane, Lebanon nkokoɔ a ɛwɔ akyirikyiri no. Matwitwa ntweneduro atentene pa ara ne ne pepeaa a ɛdi mu no nso agu fam. Maduru ne twetwɛwa so akyirikyiri na manantenante ne kwaeɛbirentuo mu.
By the hand of your servants, you have reproached the Lord, and you have said: ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the summit of Lebanon. And I have cut down its sublime cedars, and its elect spruce trees. And I have entered even to its limits. And its forest of Carmel,
24 Matutu nsubura wɔ ahɔhoɔ nsase bebree so de ne nsu pa no adwodwo me ho. Mpo, mepaee Misraim nsubɔntene mu sɛdeɛ mʼakodɔm bɛtumi atwa!”
I have cut down. And I drank foreign waters, and I dried up all the enclosed waters with the steps of my feet.’
25 “‘Na Monteeɛ? Ɛberɛ tentene a atwam na mehyɛ too hɔ. Ɛberɛ bi a atwam no na medwenee ho; afei mama aba mu sɛ, moadane nkuropɔn a mosɛe nkuro a wɔwɔ banbɔ ma wɔdane aboɔ asie.
But have you not heard what I have done from the beginning? From the days of antiquity, I have formed it, and now I have brought it to be. And fortified cities of fighting men will become piles of ruins.
26 Wɔn nkurɔfoɔ a tumi afiri wɔn nsa no ho adwiri wɔn na animguaseɛ aka wɔn. Wɔte sɛ afuo so nnua, ne afifideɛ foforɔ a ɛyɛ mmrɛ; wɔte sɛ ɛserɛ a ɛfifiri ɛdan atifi a owia tumi hye so sɛe no.
And whoever may settle in these, they have trembled, with a weak hand, and they have been confounded. They have become like the hay of the field, and like weeds sprouting on the rooftops, which dry up before they reached maturity.
27 “‘Nanso, menim deɛ woteɛ ɛberɛ a woba ne ɛberɛ a wokorɔ ne sɛdeɛ wo bo huru tia me.
Your habitation, and your exit, and your entrance, and your way, I knew beforehand, along with your fury against me.
28 Na ɛsiane mo ahomasoɔ a ɛtia me, na mʼankasa mate no enti, mede me darewa bɛsɔ mo hwene mu, na mede nnareka ato mo ano, na mama mo afa ɛkwan a mofaa so baeɛ no so, asane mo akyi.’
You have been maddened against me, and your arrogance has ascended to my ears. And so, I will place a ring in your nose, and a bit between your lips. And I will lead you back along the way by which you came.
29 “Yei na ɛbɛyɛ nsɛnkyerɛnneɛ ama woɔ, Ao Hesekia: “Saa afe yi wobɛdi deɛ ɛno ankasa fifirie, afe a ɛtɔ so mmienu no, wobɛdi deɛ ɛfiri mu ba. Na afe a ɛtɔ so mmiɛnsa so no, mobɛdua mfudeɛ, na moatwa. Mobɛyɛ bobe nturo, na moadi nʼaba no.
But as for you, Hezekiah, this shall be a sign: Eat this year whatever you will find, and in the second year, whatever may spring up of itself. But in the third year, sow and reap; plant vineyards, and eat from their fruit.
30 Na mo a moaka Yuda a moatumi agyina ntua no mu ɔhaw ne abɛbrɛsɛ no ano no, mobɛsane atena mo asase so, na mobɛdi yie na moadɔre.
And whatever will have been left behind, from the house of Judah, shall send a root downward, and shall bear fruit upward.
31 Na nkaeɛfoɔ bi bɛfiri Yerusalem aba, na nkaeɛfoɔ dɔm afiri Bepɔ Sion so. Asafo Awurade di nsiyɛ bɛhwɛ ama yei aba mu.
Indeed, a remnant shall go forth from Jerusalem, and what may be saved shall go forth from mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall accomplish this.
32 “Yei ne asɛm a Awurade ka fa Asiriahene ho: “Ɔrenhyɛne saa kuropɔn yi mu na ɔrento bɛmma wɔ ha. Ɔremfa akokyɛm mmɛnnyina kuropɔn no akyi na ɔrensi otua pie ntia no.
For this reason, thus says the Lord about the king of the Assyrians: He shall not enter into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor overtake it with the shield, nor encircle it with fortifications.
33 Ɔhene no kwan a ɔfaa so baeɛ no ara so na ɔbɛsane afa akɔ nʼankasa ɔman mu. Awurade ka sɛ, ɔrenwura saa kuro yi mu.
By the way that he came, so shall he return. And he shall not enter this city, says the Lord.
34 Esiane mʼankasa mʼanimuonyam ne mʼakoa Dawid enti, mɛbɔ ho ban.”
And I will protect this city, and I will save it for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.”
35 Saa anadwo no, Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ kɔɔ Asiria sraban mu, kɔkumm Asiria akodɔm no mpem ɔha aduɔwɔtwe enum. Asiriafoɔ a wɔkaeɛ no nyanee anɔpa no, wɔhunuu sɛ afunu gugu mmɔntene so baabiara.
And so it happened that, in the same night, an Angel of the Lord went and struck down, in the camp of the Assyrians, one hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when he had risen up, at first light, he saw all the bodies of the dead. And withdrawing, he went away.
36 Na Asiriahene Sanaherib gyaee ɔko no, kɔɔ nʼankasa nʼasase so. Ɔkɔtenaa nʼahenkuro Ninewe mu.
And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, returned and dwelled in Nineveh.
37 Ɛda koro bi a ɔresom wɔ ne nyame Nisrok abosonnan mu no, ne mmammarima Adramelek ne Sareser de wɔn akofena kɔkumm no. Wɔdwane firii hɔ kɔtenaa Ararat asase so, na ne babarima foforɔ Esarhadon bɛdii nʼadeɛ sɛ Asiriahene.
And while he was worshipping in the temple of his god, Nisroch, his sons, Adram-melech and Sharezer, struck him with the sword. And they fled into the land of the Armenians. And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his place.
