Amos 7
1 Deɛ Otumfoɔ Awurade yi kyerɛɛ me nie: na ɔreboaboa ntutummɛ bebree ano, abɛto wɔn agu asase no so. Yei yɛ ɛberɛ a wɔatwa ɔhene kyɛfa afiri mfuo no so na mfudeɛ no renyini bio.
Yahweh our God showed me [in a vision] that he was going to send locusts [to destroy our crops]. It was going to happen right after the king’s share of the hay had been harvested/cut and before the rest of the hay was ready to be harvested.
2 Ɛberɛ a mmoadabi no awe asase no so nnɔbaeɛ nyinaa no, me teaam sɛ, “Otumfoɔ Awurade, mesrɛ wo, fa wo nkurɔfoɔ bɔne kyɛ wɔn! Yakob rentumi nnyina, ɛfiri sɛ, ɔyɛ ɔman ketewa bi.”
[And in the vision I saw] those locusts come, and they ate everything that was green. Then I cried out, “Yahweh our Lord, please forgive us! We Israeli people are very helpless; (how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?/we will not be able to survive!)”
3 Ɛno enti, Awurade bo dwooɛ. Na ɔgyaee nʼatirimpɔ no. Ɔkaa sɛ, “Merenyɛ.”
So Yahweh changed his mind and said, “That will not happen.”
4 Deɛ Otumfoɔ Awurade yi kyerɛɛ me nie: Otumfoɔ Awurade de ogya rebɛbu atɛn; ɛbɛwee ebunu kɛseɛ no na ɛsɛee asase no.
Then this is what Yahweh our Lord showed me [in another vision]: He was calling to a fire to [come and] punish [his people]. [In the vision I saw that] the fire dried up the ocean and also burned [everything on] the land.
5 Na me teaam sɛ, “Ao, Otumfoɔ Awurade, mesrɛ wo, gyae. Yakob rentumi nnyina, ɛfiri sɛ, ɔyɛ ɔman ketewa bi.”
Then I cried out again, “Yahweh our Lord, I plead with you, please stop this! We Israeli people are very helpless; how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?”
6 Ɛno enti, Awurade bo dwooɛ na ɔkaa sɛ, “Mɛgyae mʼatirimpɔ yi nso.”
So Yahweh changed his mind again, and said, “That also will not happen.”
7 Yei ne deɛ ɔyi kyerɛɛ me: Na Awurade gyina ɔfasuo a wɔato no kyirebenn ho, a kyirebennyɛ ahoma kura no.
Then Yahweh showed me [another vision]. I saw him standing beside a wall. [It was very straight because] it had been built using a (plumb line/cord with a weight on one end to determine if walls are vertically straight). Yahweh had the plumb line in his hand.
8 Na Awurade bisaa me sɛ, “Amos, ɛdeɛn na wohunu?” Mebuaa sɛ, “Kyirebennyɛ ahoma.” Na Awurade kaa sɛ, “Mede kyirebennyɛ ahoma yi reto me nkurɔfoɔ Israelfoɔ ho; meremfa wɔn ho nkyɛ wɔn bio.
Yahweh asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then Yahweh said, “Look, I am going to use a plumb line among my Israeli people, [to show that they are like a wall that is not straight]. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.
9 “Wɔbɛsɛe Isak sorɔnsorɔmmea na Israel kronkron tenabea nso wɔbɛbubu no; mede mʼakofena bɛsɔre atia Yeroboam efie.”
The places on hills where [the descendants of] [MTY] Isaac worship [idols] will be destroyed. And the other important shrines in Israel will also be destroyed. And I will enable [your enemies] to attack your people with swords and they will get rid of [King] Jeroboam and all his descendants.”
10 Amasia a ɔyɛ Bet-El ɔsɔfoɔ de nkra kɔmaa Israelhene Yeroboam sɛ, “Amos rebɔ pɔ atia wo wɔ Israel ha yi ara! Nsɛm a ɔreka no nnyɛ abodwosɛm.
Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent [a message] to Jeroboam, the King of Israel. In the message he said, “Amos is plotting against you among the Israeli people [MTY]. [I am worried that] the people of this country will not be able to refute his words.
11 Deɛ Amos reka nie: “‘Yeroboam bɛwu wɔ akofena ano, na ɛkwan biara so Israel bɛkɔ nnommumfa mu, wɔ akyirikyiri asase so.’”
This is what he is saying: ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed by [someone using] a sword, and the people of Israel will be (exiled/forced to leave their land and go to another country).’”
12 Na Amasia ka kyerɛɛ Amos sɛ, “Firi ha kɔ, wo ɔdehunufoɔ! Sane kɔ Yuda asase so na kɔtena hɔ hyɛ wo nkɔm.
Then Amaziah [came to me and] said, “You prophet, get out of here! Go back to the country of Judah! Earn money to [buy food to be able] to live there, and do your prophesying there!
13 Nhyɛ nkɔm bio wɔ Bet-El ha, ɛfiri sɛ ɛha yɛ ɔhene tenabea kronkron ne ahemman no asɔredan.”
Do not prophesy any more here at Bethel, because this is where the national temple, the king’s temple, is!”
14 Amos buaa Amasia sɛ, “Mennyɛ odiyifoɔ anaa odiyifoɔ bi ba, na na meyɛ odwanhwɛfoɔ, a na mehwɛ borɔdɔma nnua nso so.
I replied to Amaziah, “I was [previously] not a prophet, and my father was not a prophet; I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
15 Nanso, Awurade frɛɛ me firii nnwan so hwɛ so, ka kyerɛɛ me sɛ, ‘Kɔhyɛ nkɔm kyerɛ me nkurɔfoɔ Israelfoɔ.’
But Yahweh took me away from taking care of my sheep, and he said to me, ‘Go to Israel and prophesy to my people there!’
16 Na afei, tie Awurade asɛm. Woka sɛ, “‘Nhyɛ nkɔm ntia Israelfoɔ, na gyae asɛnka a wode tia Isak fiefoɔ.’
You said to me, ‘Do not prophecy saying terrible things will happen to [the people of] Israel; stop saying those things!’
17 “Enti asɛm a Awurade ka nie: “‘Wo yere bɛbɔ adwaman wɔ kuropɔn yi mu, wo mmammarima ne wo mmammaa bɛwuwu wɔ akofena ano. Wɔbɛsusu wʼasase na wakyekyɛ mu, na wʼankasa nso, wobɛwu wɔ abosonsom ɔman mu, na ɛkwan biara so Israel bɛkɔ nnommumfa mu, wɔ akyirikyiri asase so.’”
Therefore listen to what Yahweh says about you: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed by [your enemies’] swords. Others will measure your land and divide it up [among themselves]; and you yourself will die in a foreign country. And the people of Israel will certainly be forced to leave their country and go (into exile/to live in another country).’”
