Hesekiel 19
1 “Momma Israel mmapɔmma ho kwadwom
Thou. therefore take up a dirge, for the prince of Israel;
2 na monka sɛ: “‘Na wo maame yɛ gyatabereɛ mu soronko wɔ agyata mu! Ɔdaa gyataburuwa mu yɛnee ne mma.
and thou shalt say— How was thy mother a lioness, Between lions, she lay down, - In the midst of young lions, She nourished her whelps;
3 Ɔyɛn ne mma no mu baako ma ɔbɛyɛɛ gyata ɔhoɔdenfoɔ. Ɔsuaa sɛdeɛ wɔtete ahaboa mu, na ɔwee nnipa nam.
And she reared up one of her whelps— A young lion, he became, And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured.
4 Amanaman no tee ne nka, na wɔn amena yii no. Wɔguu no nkapo de no kɔɔ Misraim asase so.
Then nations heard of him. In their pit, was he caught, — So they brought him with hooks. Into the land of Egypt.
5 “‘Ɛberɛ a ɔhunuu sɛ nʼanidasoɔ anyɛ hɔ, na deɛ ɔrehwɛ anim ayera no, ɔfaa ne ba foforɔ yɛɛ no gyata ɔhoɔdenfoɔ.
And she saw she had waited Lost was her hope, Then took she another of her whelps. A young lion, she made him.
6 Ɔkyinkyinii agyata no mu ɛfiri sɛ na wayɛ gyata hoɔdenfoɔ. Ɔsuaa sɛdeɛ wɔtete ahaboa mu na ɔwee nnipa nam.
Yea he went to and fro amidst lions A young lion, he became, - And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured;
7 Ɔbubuu wɔn abandenden na ɔsɛee wɔn nkuro. Asase no ne wɔn a wɔte so nyinaa no, ne mmobomu bɔɔ wɔn hu.
And he injured his widows, And their cities, laid waste, - And deserted was the land and its fulness, At the noise of his roaring.
8 Afei amanaman no sɔre tiaa no, wɔn a wɔfiri nsase a atwa ahyia no so. Wɔguu no asau kyeree no wɔ wɔn amena mu.
Then set upon him the nations round about. From the provinces, - And spread over him their net In their pit, was he caught;
9 Wɔde nnarewa twee no kɔhyɛɛ ebuo mu na wɔde no brɛɛ Babilonia ɔhene. Wɔde no too nneduafie, na wɔante ne mmobomu no bio wɔ Israel mmepɔ no so.
And they put him in a cage with hooks, And brought him to Babylon’s king, — They brought him into strong-holds, That his noise might be heard no more Among the mountains of Israel.
10 “‘Na wo maame te sɛ bobedua a wɔtɛɛ no nsuo ho wɔ wo bobeturo mu. Na ɛso aba, na ɛyiyii mman nsuo a ɔnya no bebree no enti.
Thy mother [was] like a vine of thy vineyard, By waters, was planted, — Fruitful and full of branches, she became By reason of waters abundant;
11 Ne mman yɛɛ den yie ɛdi mu sɛ wɔde yɛ ahemfo ahempoma. Ɛkorɔn, bunkam faa nhahan a ayɛ kuhaa no so, ne sorokɔ ne ne mman bebree no maa no yɛɛ sononko.
And they served her as staves of power For the sceptres of rulers, And high became the stature thereof With its interwoven foliage, - And it was seen by its height, By its multitude of branches.
12 Nanso wɔde abufuhyeɛ tuu nʼase de no hwee fam. Apueeɛ mframa maa no kasaeɛ, ɛso aba tete guiɛ; na ne mman a ɛwɔ ahoɔden no twintwameeɛ na ogya hyeeɛ.
Then was she uprooted in indignation To the ground, was she cast, And an east wind, dried up her fruit, —Broken off and withered were her staves of power, A fire, devoured them.
13 Afei wɔakɔtɛ no wɔ ɛserɛ so asase wesee a nsuo nni muo.
Now, therefore, is she planted in a desert, -In a land parched and dry;
14 Ogya trɛ firii ne mman baako so na ɛhyee nʼaba. Anka mman a ɛwɔ ahoɔden baako mpo wɔ so deɛ wɔde yɛ ahemfo ahempoma ma ɛyɛ yie no.’ Yei yɛ kwadwom, na ma wɔnto no saa ara.”
And there hath gone forth a fire out of her staves of rods. Her fruit, hath it devoured, And there is in her no staff of power. As a sceptre to bear rule. A dirge, it is, and hath been made a dirge.
