2 Ahemfo 23
1 Afei, ɔhene no frɛɛ Yuda ne Yerusalem mpanimfoɔ nyinaa.
Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [of the other places in] Judah.
2 Na ɔhene no ne Yuda ne Yerusalem manfoɔ ne asɔfoɔ ne adiyifoɔ a ɛfiri akumaa so kɔsi ɔkɛseɛ so, foro kɔɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu. Ɛhɔ na ɔhene no kenkanee Apam Nwoma a wɔahunu wɔ Awurade Asɔredan mu hɔ no nyinaa kyerɛɛ wɔn.
They went together to the temple, along with the priests and the prophets, and many other [HYP] people, from the most important people to the least important people. And while they listened, the king read to them all of the laws that Moses had written. He read from the scroll that had been found in the temple.
3 Ɔhene no tenaa beaeɛ bi a ɛkyerɛ ne tumi wɔ afadum no ho, hyɛɛ apam no mu den bio wɔ Awurade anim. Ɔhyɛɛ bɔ sɛ, ɔfiri nʼakoma ne ne kra nyinaa mu bɛdi Awurade mmaransɛm ahyɛdeɛ ne mmara nyinaa so. Ɔfaa saa ɛkwan yi so sii apam no mu nhyehyɛeɛ ahodoɔ a na wɔatwerɛ wɔ nwoma no mu no nyinaa so dua, maa nnipa no nyinaa hyɛɛ bɔ sɛ wɔbɛdi so.
Then the king stood next to the pillar [where the kings stood when they made important announcements], and while Yahweh was listening, he repeated his promise to sincerely obey [DOU] all of Yahweh’s commands and regulations [DOU]. He also promised to (fulfill the conditions of/do what was written in) the agreement he made with Yahweh. And all the people also promised to obey the agreement.
4 Afei, ɔhene hyɛɛ ɔsɔfopanin Hilkia ne asɔfoɔ akunini ne asɔredan sohwɛfoɔ nyinaa sɛ, wɔnyiyi nneɛma a na wɔde som Baal ne Asera ne ewiem atumfoɔ no nyinaa mfiri Awurade asɔredan no mu. Ɔhene no ma wɔhyee ne nyinaa wɔ Kidron bɔnhwa a ɛwɔ Yerusalem mfikyire no, soaa ne nsõ de kɔɔ Bet-El.
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the Supreme Priest and all the other priests who assisted him and the men who guarded the entrance to the temple to bring out from the temple all the items that people had been using to worship Baal, the goddess Asherah, and the stars. [After they carried them out, ] they burned all those things outside the city near the Kidron Valley. Then they took all the ashes to Bethel, [because that city was already considered to be desecrated/unholy].
5 Ɔpamoo abosom akɔmfoɔ a Yuda ahemfo a wɔdii ɛkan no yii wɔn no nyinaa, ɛfiri sɛ, na wɔhye nnuhwam wɔ Yuda abosomfie nyinaa mu a mpo, na ɛreyɛ akɔduru Yerusalem kurom. Wɔhyee nnuhwam maa Baal ne owia, ɔsrane ne nsoromma ne ewiem atumfoɔ.
There were many pagan priests that the previous kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the altars on the tops of hills in Judah. They had been offering sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. The king stopped them from doing those things.
6 Ɔhene no tuu Asera afɔrebukyia no firii Awurade asɔredan mu, de kɔɔ Yerusalem mfikyire wɔ Kidron bɔnhwa mu hɔ kɔhyee no. Afei, ɔyam dua no muhumuhu, kɔtoo ne mfuturo no guu amusieeɛ.
He [commanded that] the statue of the goddess Asherah [be] taken out of the temple. Then they took it outside Jerusalem, down to the Kidron Brook, and burned it. Then they pounded the ashes to powder and scattered that over the graves in the public cemetery.
7 Ɔdwirii asɔreeɛ adwamanfoɔ adan a na ɛwɔ Awurade Asɔredan no mu no, baabi a na mmaa no nwono nkatahotam, de kata Asera dua no ho no nyinaa guiɛ.
He also destroyed the rooms in the temple where the temple male prostitutes lived. That was where women wove robes that were used to worship the goddess Asherah.
8 Yosia sane de Awurade asɔfoɔ no a na wɔtete Yuda nkuro afoforɔ so no nyinaa baa Yerusalem. Ɛfiri Geba kɔsi Beer-Seba, ɔsɛee ɛhɔ abosonnan no nyinaa. Saa beaeɛ no na na wɔhye nnuhwam no. Ɔbubuu abosonnan a ɛwɔ Yosua a na ɔyɛ Yerusalem amrado no ɛpono ano. Sɛ obi rewura kuropɔn no mu a ɔbɛhunu saa ɛpono no wɔ kuropɔn ɛpono no benkum so.
Josiah also brought [to Jerusalem] all the priests who were offering sacrifices in the other cities in Judah. He also desecrated the places on the tops of hills where the priests had burned incense [to honor idols], from Geba [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south]. Those priests were not allowed to offer sacrifices in the temple, but they [were allowed to] eat the unleavened bread that the priests [who worked in the temple] ate. He also [commanded that] the altars that were dedicated to the goat demons near the gate built by Joshua, the mayor of Jerusalem, [be] destroyed. Those altars were at the left of the main gate into the city.
9 Asɔfoɔ a na wɔsom abosonnan no mu no, na wɔmma wɔn ɛkwan mma wɔnnsom wɔ Awurade afɔrebukyia a ɛwɔ Yerusalem no so, nanso na wɔma wɔne asɔfoɔ a aka no di burodo a mmɔreka nni mu no.
10 Afei, ɔhene no sɛee Tofet afɔrebukyia a na ɛwɔ Ben-Hinom bɔnhwa no mu no enti, na obiara ntumi mfa ne babarima anaa ne babaa mmɔ afɔdeɛ wɔ ogya mu wɔ so sɛ afɔrebɔdeɛ a wɔde ma Molek bio.
Josiah also desecrated the place named Topheth, in the Hinnom Valley, in order that no one could offer his son or daughter there to be completely burned for a sacrifice to [the god] Molech.
11 Ɔtutuu apɔnkɔ sɛso a wɔagu a ɛsisi Awurade Asɔredan ɛkwan no ano a Yuda ahemfo too edin maa owia no nyinaa firii hɔ. Na ne nyinaa wowɔ adihɔ a ɛbɛn opiani bi a wɔfrɛ no Natan-Malek dan ho. Yosia hyee nteaseɛnam a na wɔato edin ama owia no.
He also removed the horses that the [previous] kings of Judah had dedicated to worshiping the sun, and he burned the chariots that were used in that worship. Those horses and chariots were kept in the courtyard outside the temple, near the entrance to the temple, and near the room where [one of Josiah’s] officials, whose name was Nathan-Melech, lived.
12 Yosia bubuu afɔrebukyia a Yuda ahemfo sisii wɔ ahemfie no atifi wɔ Ahas dan apampam no nyinaa. Ɔhene no bubuu afɔrebukyia a Manase sisii wɔ Awurade Asɔredan no adihɔ mmienu hɔ no nyinaa guiɛ. Ɔdwirii no pasapasa, too ne nkunkumaboɔ no petee Kidron bɔnhwa no mu.
Josiah also commanded his servants to tear down the altars that the previous kings of Judah had built on the roof of the palace, above the room where King Ahaz had stayed. They also tore down the altars that had been built by King Manasseh in the two courtyards outside the temple. He commanded that they be smashed to pieces and thrown down into the Kidron Valley.
13 Ɔhene no sane guu abosonnan a ɛwɔ Yerusalem apueeɛ fam no ne deɛ ɛwɔ Ɔsɛeɛ Bepɔ no anafoɔ fam no. Saa beaeɛ no na Israelhene Salomo sisii abosonnan maa Astoret, a ɛyɛ Sidonfoɔ bosom bɔne, ne Kemos, Moabfoɔ bosom bɔne, ne Molek, Amonfoɔ bosom bɔne.
He also commanded that the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of Olive Tree Hill, be desecrated. Solomon had built them for the worship of the disgusting idols—the [statue of the goddess] Astarte [worshiped by the people in] Sidon [city], Chemosh the god of the Moab people-group, and Molech the god of the Ammon people-group.
14 Yosia dwerɛɛ afadum kronkron no nyinaa, bubuu Asera afɔrebukyia no. Ɔde nnipa nnompe guguu ne nyinaa so.
They also broke into pieces the stone pillars that the Israeli people worshiped, and cut down the [pillars that honored the goddess] Asherah, and they scattered the ground there with human bones [to desecrate it].
15 Ɔhene no sane bubuu afɔrebukyia a ɛwɔ Bet-El abosonnan a Nebat babarima Yeroboam yɛeɛ ɛberɛ a ɔdii Israel anim, de wɔn kɔɔ bɔne mu no. Yosia yam aboɔ no, ma ɛdanee mfuturo, hyee Asera dua no.
Furthermore, he commanded them to tear down the place of worship at Bethel which had been built by King Jeroboam, the king who persuaded the people of Israel to sin. They tore down the altar. Then they broke its stones into pieces and pounded them to become powder. They also burned the statue [of the goddess] Asherah.
16 Ɛberɛ a Yosia retoto nʼani no, ɔhunuu damena pii wɔ kokoɔ no nkyɛnmu. Ɔhyɛɛ sɛ wɔntu nnompe no, na ɔhyee ne nyinaa wɔ afɔrebukyia a ɛwɔ Bet-El no so, de guu afɔrebukyia no ho fi. Yei siiɛ sɛdeɛ Awurade nam Onyankopɔn onipa so ahyɛ no, ɛberɛ a Yeroboam kɔgyinaa afɔrebukyia no ho wɔ afahyɛ da no. Afei Yosia danee ne ho hwɛɛ Onyankopɔn onipa a ɔhyɛɛ yeinom nyinaa ho nkɔm no damena.
Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill. He commanded his men to take the bones out of those tombs and burn them on the altar. By doing that, he desecrated the altar. That was what a prophet had predicted many years before when Jeroboam was standing close to that altar at a festival. Then Josiah looked up and saw the tomb of the prophet who had predicted that.
17 Yosia bisaa sɛ, “Nkaeɛdum bɛn na ɛwɔ nohoa no?” Na nnipa a wɔwɔ kuro no mu ka kyerɛɛ no sɛ, “Ɛyɛ Onyankopɔn onipa no a ɔfiri Yuda a ɔhyɛɛ nkɔm faa dwuma a woadi seesei wɔ afɔrebukyia a ɛwɔ Bet-El ho no ɔboda.”
Josiah asked, “Whose tomb is that?” The people of Bethel replied, “It is the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah and predicted that these things that you have just now done to this altar would happen.”
18 Yosia buaa sɛ, “Momma no nwɔ hɔ. Obiara mmfa ne nsa nka ne nnompe no.” Ɛno enti, wɔanhye ne nnompe no anaa odiyifoɔ akɔkoraa a ɔfiri Samaria no deɛ nso.
Josiah replied, “Allow his tomb to remain as it is. Do not remove the prophet’s bones from the tomb.” So the people did not remove those bones, or the bones of the other prophet, the one who had come from Samaria.
19 Na Yosia bubuu abosonnan no a ɛwɔ Samaria no, sɛdeɛ ɔyɛɛ wɔ Bet-El no. Israel ahemfo ahodoɔ bi na wɔsisiiɛ de hyɛɛ Awurade abufuo.
In every city in Israel, at Josiah’s command, they tore down the shrines that had been built by the previous kings of Israel, which had caused Yahweh to become very angry. He did to all those shrines/altars the same thing that he had done to the altars at Bethel.
20 Ɔkunkumm asɔreeɛ so abosomfoɔ no wɔ wɔn ankasa afɔrebukyia so, na ɔhyee nnipa nnompe wɔ afɔrebukyia ahodoɔ no so, de guu ho fi. Akyire yi, ɔsane kɔɔ Yerusalem.
He ordered that all the priests who offered sacrifices on the altars on the tops of hills must be killed on those altars. Then he burned human bones on every one of those altars [to desecrate them]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
21 Ɔhene Yosia hyɛɛ nnipa no nyinaa sɛ, “Ɛsɛ sɛ modi Twam Afahyɛ ma Awurade, mo Onyankopɔn, sɛdeɛ wɔatwerɛ wɔ Apam Nwoma mu no.”
Then the king commanded all the people to celebrate the Passover Festival to honor Yahweh their God, which was written in the law of Moses that they should do [every year].
22 Ɛfiri ɛberɛ a atemmufoɔ dii Israel so mfeɛ bebree a atwam wɔ Israel ne Yuda ahemfo so no, wɔnnii Twam Afahyɛ no bi saa da.
During all the years that leaders ruled Israel and during all the years that kings had ruled Israel and Judah, they had not celebrated that festival.
23 Ɛberɛ a ɔhene Yosia dii mfeɛ dunwɔtwe wɔ akonnwa so no na wɔdii saa Twam Afahyɛ yi wɔ Yerusalem maa Awurade.
But now, after Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, to [honor] Yahweh they celebrated the Passover Festival in Jerusalem.
24 Yosia tɔre asamanfrɛfoɔ ne adunsifoɔ ne afie mu anyame ne ahonisom biara ase wɔ Yerusalem ne Yuda asase so baabiara. Ɔyɛɛ saa de dii mmara a wɔatwerɛ wɔ nwoma mmobɔeɛ a ɔsɔfoɔ Hilkia kɔhunuu wɔ Awurade Asɔredan mu no so.
Furthermore, Josiah got rid of all the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah who practiced sorcery and those who requested the spirits of dead people [to tell them what they should do]. He also removed from Jerusalem and from the other places in Judah all the household idols and all the other idols and abominable things. He did those things in order to obey what had been written in the scroll that Hilkiah had found in the temple.
25 Ɔhene biara mmaeɛ a ɔte sɛ Yosia a ɔde nʼakoma, ne kra ne nʼahoɔden ama Awurade na ɔnam so adi Mose mmara nyinaa so. Na ɔhene biara nso mmaeɛ a ɔte sɛ ɔno.
Josiah was totally devoted to Yahweh. There had never been [in Judah or Israel] a king like him. He obeyed all the laws of Moses. And there has never since then been a king like Josiah.
26 Nanso, yei nyinaa akyi no, Awurade abufuo no dɛre tiaa Yuda, ɛsiane bɔne akɛseɛ a Ɔhene Manase yɛeɛ no. Ɛno enti, wanyi nʼabufuhyeɛ no amfiri wɔn so.
But Yahweh had become extremely angry with the people of Judah because of all the things that [King] Manasseh had done to infuriate him, and he continued to be very angry.
27 Awurade kaa sɛ, “Mɛsɛe Yuda, sɛdeɛ mesɛee Israel no. Mɛpam nnipa no afiri mʼanim, na mapo me kuropɔn Yerusalem ne Asɔredan a anka ɛsɛ sɛ wɔhyɛ me din animuonyam wɔ mu no.”
He said, “I will do to Judah what I have done to Israel. I will banish the people of Judah, with the result that they will never enter my presence again. And I will reject Jerusalem, the city that I chose [to belong to me], and I will abandon the temple, the place where I said that I [MTY] should be worshiped.”
28 Yosia ahennie ho asɛm nkaeɛ ne dwuma a ɔdiiɛ nyinaa no, wɔatwerɛ agu Yuda Ahemfo Abakɔsɛm Nwoma no mu.
[If you want to know more about] [RHQ] all the other things that Josiah did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
29 Ɛberɛ a Yosia di ɔhene no, Misraimhene Farao Neko kɔɔ Asubɔnten Eufrate ho kɔboaa Asiriahene. Ɔhene Yosia de nʼakodɔm tuu sa, kɔko tiaa no, nanso ɛberɛ a wɔhyiaa wɔ Megido no, ɔhene Neko kumm no.
While Josiah was the king of Judah, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah tried to stop the army of Egypt at Megiddo [city], but Josiah was killed in a battle there.
30 Yosia akodɔm mu mpanimfoɔ no de nʼamu no too teaseɛnam mu firii Megido, baa Yerusalem bɛsiee no ɔno ankasa ɔboda mu. Na nnipa no sraa ne babarima Yehoahas ngo, sii no ɔhene.
His officials placed his corpse in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where it was buried in his own tomb, a tomb where the other previous kings had not been buried. Then the people of Judah poured [olive] oil on [the head of] Josiah’s son Joahaz, to appoint him to be the new king.
31 Ɛberɛ a Yehoahas dii ɔhene no, na wadi mfeɛ aduonu mmiɛnsa, na ɔdii adeɛ Yerusalem abosome mmiɛnsa. Na ne maame yɛ Yeremia a ɔfiri Libna no babaa a na ne din de Hamutal.
Joahaz was 23 years old when he became the king [of Judah], but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah [city].
32 Ɔyɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade ani so, sɛdeɛ nʼagyanom yɛeɛ no pɛpɛɛpɛ.
Joahaz did many things that Yahweh said were evil, just like many of his ancestors had done.
33 Farao Neko de Yehoahas too afiase wɔ Ribla wɔ Hamat asase so, sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a, ɔrentumi nni ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem. Afei, ɔbisaa sɛ Yuda ntua toɔ dwetɛ tɔno mmiɛnsa ne fa ne sikakɔkɔɔ kilogram aduasa ɛnan sɛ apeatoɔ.
King Neco’s [army came from Egypt and captured him and] tied him up with chains and took him as a prisoner to Riblah [town] in Hamath [district], to prevent him from continuing to rule in Jerusalem. Neco forced the people of Judah to pay to him (7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.) of silver and (75 pounds/34 kg.) of gold.
34 Afei, Farao Neko de Eliakim a ɔyɛ Yosia babarima, dii adeɛ, ma ɔsii nʼagya ananmu. Ɔsesaa Eliakim din frɛɛ no Yehoiakim. Wɔde Yehoahas kɔɔ Misraim sɛ odeduani, na ɔwuu wɔ hɔ.
King Neco appointed another son of Josiah, Eliakim, to be the new king, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Joahaz to Egypt, and later Joahaz died there in Egypt.
35 Sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a ɔbɛnya dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ toɔ a Farao Neko regye no, Yehoiakim gyegyee akwabrantoɔ firii Yudafoɔ nkyɛn. Obiara tuaa sɛdeɛ nʼahonya teɛ.
King Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people [of Judah]. He collected more from the rich people and less from the poor people. He collected silver and gold from them, in order to pay to the king of Egypt what he commanded them to give.
36 Ɛberɛ a Yehoiakim dii adeɛ no, na wadi mfirinhyia aduonu enum, na ɔdii adeɛ Yerusalem mfeɛ dubaako. Na ne maame din de Sebuda a ɔyɛ Pedaia a ɔfiri Ruma babaa.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah [town].
37 Ɔyɛɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade ani so, sɛdeɛ nʼagyanom yɛeɛ no.
He did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his ancestors had done.
