Yeremia 37
1 Babiloniahene Nebukadnessar de Yosia babarima Sedekia dii Yudahene; ɔsii Yehoiakim babarima Yehoiakin anan mu.
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon replaced Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim with Zedekiah son of Josiah as the ruling king of Judah.
2 Ɔno, nʼasomfoɔ ne nnipa a wɔwɔ asase no so antie Awurade asɛm a ɔnam odiyifoɔ Yeremia so kaeɛ no.
But Zedekiah and his officers and everyone else in the country refused to obey what the Lord had said through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Ɔhene Sedekia somaa Selemia babarima Yehukal ne Maaseia babarima ɔsɔfoɔ Sefania sɛ, wɔnkɔka nkyerɛ Yeremia sɛ, “Yɛsrɛ wo, bɔ Awurade yɛn Onyankopɔn mpaeɛ ma yɛn.”
However, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!”
4 Na Yeremia de ne ho, di nnipa no mu akɔneaba, ɛfiri sɛ na wɔmfaa no ntoo afiase.
(At this time Jeremiah could come and go freely, because as yet they hadn't put him in prison.)
5 Na Farao akodɔm afiri Misraim reba, na Babiloniafoɔ a wɔatua Yerusalem no tee wɔn nka no, wɔfirii Yerusalem.
Pharaoh's army was advancing from Egypt, and when the Babylonian army heard about it, they moved away from Jerusalem.
6 Ɛna Awurade asɛm baa odiyifoɔ Yeremia nkyɛn sɛ,
Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:
7 “Yei ne deɛ Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn, seɛ: Monka nkyerɛ Yudahene a, ɔsomaa mo sɛ mommɛbisa me hɔ biribi no sɛ, ‘Farao akodɔm a wɔfirii adi sɛ wɔrebɛboa mo no bɛsane akɔ wɔn ankasa asase so, Misraim so.
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, instructs you to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me for help: Look! Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return home to Egypt.
8 Na Babiloniafoɔ no bɛsane abɛto ahyɛ saa kuropɔn yi so; wɔbɛgye na wɔahye no dworobɛɛ.’
Then the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem. They will capture it and burn it down.
9 “Sɛ Awurade seɛ nie: Monnnaadaa mo ho nnwene sɛ, ‘Ampa ara Babiloniafoɔ no bɛfiri yɛn so akɔ.’ Wɔrenkɔ!
This is what the Lord says: Don't fool yourselves by saying, “The Babylonians are gone for good,” because they're not!
10 Sɛ modi Babiloniafoɔ akodɔm a wɔato ahyɛ mo so no so ma ɛka apirafoɔ wɔ wɔn ntomadan mu mpo a, wɔbɛfiri adi abɛhye kuropɔn yi dworobɛɛ.”
In fact, even if you were able to kill the whole Babylonian army attacking you, leaving only wounded men in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.
11 Babilonia akodɔm firii Yerusalem, ɛsiane Farao akodɔm no enti akyi no,
When the Babylonian army moved away from Jerusalem because of the threat of Pharaoh's army,
12 Yeremia yɛɛ ahoboa sɛ ɔrefiri kuropɔn no mu, akɔ Benyamin mantam akɔgye nʼagyapadeɛ mu kyɛfa wɔ nkurɔfoɔ a wɔwɔ hɔ no mu.
Jeremiah was on his way out of Jerusalem to go to his home in the territory of Benjamin to claim his share of his family's property.
13 Nanso, ɔkɔduruu Benyamin Ɛpono ano no, awɛmfoɔ no so panin a wɔfrɛ no Yiria a ɔyɛ Selemia babarima ne Hanania nana kyeree no kaa sɛ, “Woredwane agya yɛn akɔ Babiloniafoɔ afa!”
However, when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the guard captain, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, arrested him, saying, “You're defecting to the Babylonians!”
14 Yeremia buaa sɛ, “Ɛnyɛ nokorɛ. Merennwane nkɔ Babiloniafoɔ afa.” Nanso, Yiria antie, na mmom ɔkyeree Yeremia de no kɔmaa ne mpanimfoɔ.
“That's not true,” Jeremiah replied. “I'm not defecting to the Babylonians!” But Irijah refused to listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and took him before the officers.
15 Wɔn bo fuu Yeremia, na wɔmaa wɔboroo no de no too afiase wɔ ɔtwerɛfoɔ Yonatan efie a na wɔde ayɛ nneduadan no.
The officers were furious with Jeremiah. They had him beaten and locked up in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which had been turned into a prison.
16 Wɔde Yeremia too asase ase afiase, ma ɔdii nna bebree wɔ hɔ.
Jeremiah was placed in a cell in the underground dungeon and was kept there for a long time.
17 Akyire yi, ɔhene Sedekia soma ma wɔkɔfaa no baa ahemfie, ɛhɔ na ɔbisaa no wɔ kɔkoam sɛ, “Woanya asɛm bi afiri Awurade nkyɛn anaa?” Yeremia buaa sɛ, “Aane, wɔde wo bɛma Babiloniahene.”
Some while later King Zedekiah secretly sent for him and had him brought to the royal palace where he asked, “Is there a message from Lord for me?” “Yes there is,” Jeremiah replied. “You are going to be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
18 Afei, Yeremia bisaa ɔhene no sɛ, “Ɛdeɛn bɔne na mayɛ atia wo, anaa wʼadwumayɛfoɔ anaa nnipa yi a enti wɔde me ato afiase yi?
Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or these people, for you to put me in prison?
19 Ɛhe na wʼadiyifoɔ a wɔhyɛɛ nkɔm kyerɛɛ wo sɛ, ‘Babiloniahene rento nhyɛ wo so anaa asase yi so’ no wɔ?
Where are your prophets now, the ones who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon won't come and attack you and this country’?
20 Na afei, ɔdɛɛfoɔ, mesrɛ wo, tie. Ma memfa me nkotosrɛ nto wʼanim: Mfa me nkɔto ɔtwerɛfoɔ Yonatan efie hɔ bio, anyɛ saa a mɛwu wɔ hɔ.”
Now please listen to me, my lord the king, and respond positively to my request. Don't send me back to prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, otherwise I'll die there.”
21 Ɔhene Sedekia hyɛɛ sɛ wɔmfa Yeremia nkɔto awɛmfoɔ adihɔ hɔ, na wɔmma no burodo a ɛfiri burodotofoɔ borɔno so da biara nkɔsi sɛ kuropɔn no mu burodo nyinaa bɛsa. Enti Yeremia kaa awɛmfoɔ adihɔ hɔ.
King Zedekiah gave the order for Jeremiah to be held in the guard's courtyard and be provided with a loaf of bread every day from a bakery until there was no bread left in the city. So Jeremiah stayed in the guard's courtyard.
