Yeremia 23
1 “Nnome nka nnwanhwɛfoɔ a wɔsɛe na wɔhwete me nnwankuo no” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
Yahweh declares, “Terrible things will happen to [the leaders] [MET] [of my people—those who are like] shepherds of [the people who are like] my sheep—because they have scattered my people and sent them away, and have not taken care of them.
2 Ɛno enti yei ne deɛ Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn, ka kyerɛ ahwɛfoɔ a wɔhwɛ me nkurɔfoɔ so nie: “Esiane sɛ, moabɔ me nnwankuo ahweteɛ, na moapam wɔn na moanhwɛ wɔn so yie no enti, mede asotwe bɛbrɛ mo wɔ mo bɔne a moayɛ no nti,” deɛ Awurade seɛ nie.
So, this is what [I, ] Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli [people worship], say to those leaders: ‘Instead of taking care of my people and [leading them to places where they are safe, like a shepherd does for] his sheep, you have scattered them. So I will punish you for the evil things that you have done.
3 “Me ara ankasa mɛboaboa me nnwan nkaeɛ no afifiri aman a mapam wɔn akɔ hɔ nyinaa no so na mede wɔn bɛsane aba wɔn adidibea bio, baabi wɔbɛwowo na wɔn ase atrɛ.
But later I will gather those who are still alive, from the countries where I have forced them to go. I will bring them back to their own country, where they will have many children, and their number/population will increase.
4 Na mɛyi nnwanhwɛfoɔ a wɔbɛhwɛ wɔn so, na wɔrensuro na wɔremmɔ hu bio na wɔn mu baako mpo renyera.” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
[Then] I will appoint [other] leaders for my people, leaders who will take care of them. And my people will never be afraid [DOU] of anything again, and none of them will be [like a] lost [sheep].’”
5 “Nna bi reba,” Awurade na ɔseɛ, “Mɛma tenenee dubaa bi so ama Dawid, ɔhene bi a ɔbɛdi adeɛ nyansa mu na wayɛ deɛ ɛtene ne deɛ ɛyɛ wɔ asase yi so.
Yahweh [also] says, “Some day I will appoint for you a righteous man who will be a descendant of King David. He will be a king who rules wisely. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 Ne mmerɛ so, wɔbɛgye Yuda nkwa na Israel bɛtena ase wɔ asomdwoeɛ mu. Yei ne edin a wɔde bɛfrɛ no: Awurade Yɛn Tenenee.
At that time, all the Israeli people [DOU] will be saved [from their enemies], and they will be safe. And his name will be ‘Yahweh, the one who vindicates/defends us.’”
7 Na afei nna bi reba,” Awurade na ɔseɛ, “a nnipa renka bio sɛ, ‘Nokorɛm sɛ Awurade te ase yi, deɛ ɔyii Israelfoɔ firii Misraim,’
Yahweh [also] says that at that time, people [who are solemnly promising to do something] will no longer say, “[I will do it as surely] as Yahweh lives, who rescued the Israeli people from Egypt.”
8 na mmom, wɔbɛka sɛ, ‘Nokorɛm sɛ Awurade te ase yi, deɛ ɔyii Israel asefoɔ firii atifi asase so ne aman nyinaa a ɔpamoo wɔn kɔɔ hɔ no so.’ Na afei wɔbɛtena wɔn ankasa asase so.”
Instead, they will say, “[I will do it] as surely as Yahweh lives, who brought [us] Israeli people back to our own land, from the land to the northeast and from all the [other] countries to which he had exiled us.” And they will live in their own land [again].
9 Ɛfa adiyifoɔ no ho no: Mʼakoma abubu wɔ me mu; me nnompe nyinaa woso. Mete sɛ ɔsabofoɔ, mete sɛ obi a nsã aboro noɔ, ɛsiane Awurade ne ne nsɛm kronkron no enti.
I am very shocked because of the sacred message that Yahweh has spoken about [what will happen to] the [false] prophets; [it is as though] all my bones shake. I stagger like a man who is drunk after drinking a lot of wine.
10 Awaresɛefoɔ ahyɛ asase no so ma; nnome no enti asase no awo wesee adidibea a ɛwɔ anweatam no so ahye. Adiyifoɔ no nam ɛkwan bɔne so de wɔn tumi yɛ deɛ ɛntene.
The land is full of [people who commit] adultery; and [Yahweh] has cursed the land. Even the pastures in the desert are all dried up, because the people do what is evil, and [the false prophets] use their power to do things that are not just/fair.
11 “Odiyifoɔ ne ɔsɔfoɔ nyinaa nsuro Onyankopɔn; mʼasɔredan mu mpo mehunu wɔn amumuyɛsɛm,” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
Yahweh says, “[Yes, even] the priests and the prophets are ungodly; they do wicked things even in my temple.
12 “Ɛno enti, wɔn ɛkwan so bɛyɛ torotorotoro; wɔbɛpam wɔn akɔ esum mu na ɛhɔ na wɔbɛhwehwe ase. Mede amanehunu bɛba wɔn so wɔ afe a wɔbɛtwe wɔn aso mu no,” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
Therefore, [it will be as though] the paths that they walk on are slippery. [It will be as though] they are being chased in the darkness, and there they will fall down, because I will cause them to experience disasters at the time that I will punish them. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”
13 “Samaria adiyifoɔ mu no mehunuu saa atantanneɛ yi: Wɔde Baal hyɛɛ nkɔm nam so maa me nkurɔfoɔ Israelfoɔ fom ɛkwan.
[Previously] I saw that the prophets in Samaria were doing something that was wrong; they were prophesying, saying that Baal [gave them the messages that they were proclaiming], and they were deceiving my people.
14 Na Yerusalem adiyifoɔ mu no mahunu adeɛ a ɛyɛ hu: Wɔsɛe awadeɛ na wɔdi atorɔ. Wɔhyɛ wɔn a wɔyɛ bɔne no mpamuden, enti obiara nntwe ne ho mfiri nʼamumuyɛsɛm ho. Wɔn nyinaa te sɛ Sodom ma me; na Yerusalemfoɔ te sɛ Gomora.”
And [now] I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem doing terrible things. They commit adultery and habitually tell lies. They encourage evil people to continue to do evil things, with the result that the people do not stop sinning. Those prophets are as wicked as the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were.
15 Ɛno enti, yei ne deɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ fa adiyifoɔ no ho: “Mema wɔadi aduane a ɛyɛ nwono na wɔanom nsuo a awuduro wɔ mu, ɛfiri sɛ Yerusalem adiyifoɔ enti, abɔnefosɛm ahyɛ asase yi so ma.”
So, this is what the Commander of the armies of angels says about those [false] prophets: “I will give those prophets bitter things to eat and poison to drink, because it is because of them that this land is filled with [people who do] wicked things.”
16 Yei ne deɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ: “Monntie nkɔm a adiyifoɔ no hyɛ kyerɛ mo; wɔma mo nya anidasoɔ a ɛnni nnyinasoɔ. Wɔbɔ wɔn tirim ka anisoadehunu, a ɛmfiri Awurade anom.
This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “Do not pay any attention to what those [false] prophets say to you, because they are just deceiving you. They tell you about visions that they have thought/created [only] in their own minds, not about visions that I have given them.
17 Wɔkɔ so ka kyerɛ wɔn a wɔbu me animtia sɛ, ‘Awurade se: Mobɛnya asomdwoeɛ.’ Na wɔn a wɔdi wɔn akomadenyɛ akyi no nyinaa, wɔka kyerɛ wɔn sɛ, ‘Ɔhaw biara remma mo so.’
They habitually say to those who hate me, ‘[Yahweh says that] you will have peace.’ And they say to those who stubbornly do what they want to do, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you [because of your doing those things].’
18 Na wɔn mu hwan na waka Awurade agyinatufoɔ ho sɛ ɔbɛhwɛ anaa ɔbɛtie nʼasɛm? Hwan na wayɛ aso ate nʼasɛm?
But none of them has ever been in a council [meeting] in heaven in order to listen to a message from me. None of them has paid attention to anything that [I], Yahweh, have said.
19 Hwɛ, Awurade ahum bɛtu abufuhyeɛ mu, ntwahoframa bɛdi kyinhyia wɔ amumuyɛfoɔ mpampam.
So, listen to this: I will punish them; it will be [like] a great storm; it will come down [like] a whirlwind, swirling around the heads of those wicked people.
20 Awurade abufuo rennwo kɔsi sɛ ɔbɛwie nʼakoma mu nhyehyɛeɛ nyinaa. Nna a ɛreba no mu no mobɛte aseɛ yie.
I will not stop being angry until I completely accomplish all that I have planned. In the future, you will understand [all of] this clearly.”
21 Mansoma saa adiyifoɔ yi, nanso wɔde wɔn asɛm akyinkyini; manto wɔn nkra biara, nanso wɔahyɛ nkɔm.
[Yahweh also says, ] “I have not appointed those prophets, but they run [around telling people their messages]. I did not speak to them, but they [continue to] prophesy.
22 Sɛ wɔkaa mʼagyinatufoɔ ho a, anka wɔbɛpae mu aka mʼasɛm akyerɛ me nkurɔfoɔ na ama wɔatwe wɔn ho afiri wɔn akwammɔne ne wɔn nneyɛɛ bɔne ho.
If they had been in my council [meetings], they would have been able to speak messages from me, and they would have caused people to turn away from committing evil things.”
23 “Meyɛ Onyankopɔn a mebɛn nko ara anaa,” Awurade na ɔseɛ, “na mennyɛ Onyankopɔn a mewɔ akyirikyiri nso?
Yahweh [also] says, “Am I a God who is only nearby? No, I am a God who is far away, also.
24 Obi bɛtumi de ne ho asie baabi a merentumi nhunu no anaa?” Awurade na ɔseɛ. “Menyɛɛ ɔsoro ne asase so ma anaa?” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
So, no one can hide in some secret place with the result that I cannot see him. I am everywhere, in heaven and on the earth! [That is what I], Yahweh, say!
25 “Mate deɛ adiyifoɔ a wɔde medin hyɛ nkɔmtorɔ no keka. Wɔkeka sɛ, ‘Mesoo daeɛ! Mesoo daeɛ!’
I have heard those prophets prophesy lies, saying that they are telling people messages from me. They say, ‘[Listen to me tell you] the dream that God gave me last night! I [really] had this dream!’
26 Yei bɛkɔ so akɔsi da bɛn wɔ atorɔ adiyifoɔ yi akoma mu? Wɔn a wɔbɔ wɔn tirim hyɛ nnaadaa nkɔm?
How long will they continue to do this? How long will those lying prophets continue to prophesy things that come only from their own minds?
27 Wɔdwene sɛ daeɛ a wɔkeka kyerɛkyerɛ wɔn ho no bɛma me nkurɔfoɔ werɛ afiri me din, sɛdeɛ Baalsom enti wɔn agyanom werɛ firii me din no.
They think that because of the dreams that they tell to each other, people will forget me, like their ancestors forgot about me when they started to worship Baal.
28 Ma odiyifoɔ a waso daeɛ no nka nʼadaeso, na ma deɛ ɔwɔ mʼasɛm no nka no nokorɛm. Na ɛdeɛn na ntɛtɛ ne ayuo wɔ yɛ?” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
Allow those [false] prophets to tell people their dreams, but those who have messages that [really] come from me should proclaim those messages faithfully. I, Yahweh, say [that like] straw and grain are certainly very different, [my messages and the messages from those false prophets are certainly very different].
29 “Na mʼasɛm nte sɛ ogya?” Awurade na ɔseɛ, “Ɛnte sɛ asaeɛ a ɛpaapae ɔbotan mu nketenkete anaa?
[It is as though] my messages [burn] like a fire; they [strike people’s inner beings like] someone strikes a rock with a hammer and smashes it into pieces.
30 “Ɛno nti,” Awurade na ɔseɛ, “mekyi adiyifoɔ a wɔfa nsɛm a ɛfiri wɔn yɔnkonom nkyɛn, na wɔpae mu ka no sɛdeɛ ɛfiri me nkyɛn no.
Therefore, [I, ] Yahweh say, 'I oppose all those prophets who steal messages from each other and claim that those messages came from me.
31 Aane,” Awurade asɛm nie, “mekyi saa adiyifoɔ a wɔde wɔn ankasa tɛkrɛmawoɔ ka sɛ, ‘Awurade na ɔseɛ.’
I oppose those prophets who speak their own messages but claim that those messages came from me.
32 Nokorɛm, mekyi wɔn a wɔhyɛ adaeɛso ho nkɔmtorɔ,” Awurade na ɔseɛ. “Wɔka kyerɛ wɔn na wɔde atorɔ nsɛm daadaa me nkurɔfoɔ ma wɔfom ɛkwan, nso mensomaa wɔn na mennyii wɔn. Wɔn ho nni mfasoɔ mma saa nnipa yi koraa,” Awurade na ɔseɛ.
I oppose those prophets who falsely say that I told them something in a vision, but they are [only] telling lies that cause my people to sin. I did not send those prophets. I did not even appoint them [to be prophets]. And they have no messages that will benefit my people at all.' [That is what I, ] Yahweh, declare.”
33 “Sɛ saa nnipa yi, anaa odiyifoɔ anaa ɔsɔfoɔ bisa mo sɛ, ‘Ɛdeɛn ne Awurade adiyisɛm no a?’ Monka nkyerɛ wɔn sɛ, ‘Adiyisɛm bɛn? Mɛpo mo, Awurade na ɔseɛ.’
[Yahweh said to me], “If one of those prophets or priests or one of the [other] people asks you, ‘What problem has Yahweh told you about [now]?’, you must reply, ‘You are the problem! And Yahweh says that he will abandon you!’
34 Sɛ odiyifoɔ bi, ɔsɔfoɔ bi anaa obi foforɔ si so dua sɛ, ‘Awurade adiyisɛm ni’ a, mɛtwe saa ɔbarima no ne ne fiefoɔ aso.
And if any prophet or priest or anyone [else falsely] says, ‘[I have] a prophecy from Yahweh,’ I will punish that person and his family.
35 Yei ne deɛ mo mu biara kɔ so ka kyerɛ ne yɔnko anaa ne busuani: ‘Awurade mmuaeɛ ne sɛn?’ Anaa ‘Ɛdeɛn na Awurade aka?’
What you should continually ask each other is, ‘[When you spoke to Yahweh, ] what did he reply? What is he saying [to us]?’
36 Nanso ɛnsɛ sɛ mobɔ ‘Awurade adiyisɛm’ so bio; ɛfiri sɛ, obiara asɛm bɛyɛ nʼadiyisɛm, ne saa enti modanedane nsɛm a ɛfiri Onyankopɔn, Teasefoɔ, Asafo Awurade yɛn Onyankopɔn nkyɛn mu.
But stop saying ‘[I have] a prophecy/message from Yahweh,’ because those who say that are doing it only because they want people to accept their ideas, and by doing that they distort/change the messages that are from our God, the Commander of the armies of angels.
37 Yei ne deɛ mokɔ so ka kyerɛ odiyifoɔ: ‘Mmuaeɛ bɛn na Awurade de ama mo?’ Anaa ‘Ɛdeɛn na Awurade aka?’
This is what you should ask each prophet: ‘What did Yahweh reply [when you talked to him]? What is he saying [to us]?’
38 Ɛwom, mosi so dua sɛ, ‘Yei ne Awurade adiyisɛm’ nanso sei na Awurade ka: Mokaa sɛ, ‘Yei yɛ Awurade adiyisɛm,’ wɔ ɛberɛ a maka akyerɛ mo sɛ monnka saa nsɛm yi bio.
If he replies, ‘[What I told you] is a prophecy/message from Yahweh,’ you should say to him, ‘You have continued to say, “[I received] a prophecy/message from Yahweh” even though I told you to not claim that you have received prophecies/messages from Yahweh.’
39 Afei, nokorɛm, me werɛ bɛfiri mo, na mapam mo ne kuropɔn a mede maa mo ne mo agyanom afiri mʼani so.
So I [, Yahweh, ] will get rid of you [false prophets]. I will expel you from my presence. And I will get rid of this city that I gave to you and to your ancestors.
40 Na mede daa animguaseɛ, ne daa ahohora a werɛ remfi da bɛba mo so.”
I will cause people to make fun of you forever. People will never forget that you were disgraced.”
