Yeremia 44

1 Saa asɛm yi baa Yeremia nkyɛn. Ɛfa Yudafoɔ a wɔtete Misraim anafoɔ fam wɔ Migdol, Tapanhes, Memfis ne Misraim atifi fam ho.

This is the message that came to Jeremiah regarding all the people of Judah living in Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in Upper Egypt.

2 “Yei ne deɛ Asafo Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ: Mohunuu amanehunu kɛseɛ a mede baa Yerusalem ne Yuda nkuro nyinaa so. Ɛnnɛ wɔayeyɛ amanfo na wɔasɛe

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the complete disaster that I brought down on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. You can see how today they're ruined and abandoned

3 ɛsiane bɔne a wɔayɛ no enti. Wɔhyee nnuhwam, somm anyame foforɔ a wɔn anaa mo anaa mo agyanom nnim wɔn de hyɛɛ me abufuo.

because of the evil they did. They made me angry by burning incense and serving other gods that they hadn't ever known, and you and your forefathers hadn't known either.

4 Mpɛn bebree mesomaa mʼasomfoɔ adiyifoɔ a wɔkaa sɛ, ‘Monnyɛ saa atantanneɛ a mekyiri no!’

I sent you all my servants the prophets time and again to warn you: “Don't do these offensive things that I hate.”

5 Nanso wɔantie. Wɔamfa anyɛ asɛm, na wɔannane amfiri wɔn amumuyɛsɛm ho na wɔannyae hye a wɔhye nnuhwam ma anyame foforɔ no.

But you refused to listen or to pay attention. You didn't stop their wickedness or burning incense in worship of other gods.

6 Enti, mehwiee mʼabufuo guiɛ na ɛdɛre kɔɔ Yuda nkuro ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so, ma ɛsɛɛsɛeɛ na ɛdedaa mpan sɛdeɛ ɛteɛ ɛnnɛ yi.

That's why my furious anger poured out and set fire to the towns of Judah and burned in the streets of Jerusalem, making them the abandoned ruins they still are today.

7 “Na seesei, deɛ Asafo Awurade Onyankopɔn, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ nie: Adɛn enti na mode amanehunu kɛseɛ aba mo ho so, sɛ moyii mmarima ne mmaa, mmɔfra ne mmotafowa firii Yuda a moangya nkaeɛfoɔ biara amma mo ho.

So this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Why are you hurting yourselves so badly by removing from Judah every man, woman, child, infant, so you don't have anyone left?

8 Adɛn enti na mode deɛ mo nsa ayɛ hyɛ me abufuo, na mohye nnuhwam ma anyame foforɔ wɔ Misraim, baabi a moabɛtena hɔ? Mobɛsɛe mo ho, na moayɛ nnomedeɛ ne nsopa wɔ asase so amanaman nyinaa mu.

Why are you making me angry by what you do, burning incense to other gods in Egypt where you have come to live? Because if this you will be destroyed, and will you will become a curse word, an expression of condemnation among all the nations on earth.

9 Mo werɛ afiri amumuyɛsɛm a mo agyanom, Yuda ahemfo ne ahemaa yɛeɛ, na mo ne mo yerenom nso yɛɛ wɔ Yuda asase ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so no anaa?

Have you forgotten the evil of your forefathers and the evil of the kings of Judah and the evil of their wives, as well as your own evil and the evil your wives, all practiced in the country of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10 Ɛbɛsi ɛnnɛ yi, wɔmmrɛɛ wɔn ho ase, wɔnnaa anidie adi na wɔnnii me mmara ne ahyɛdeɛ a mede maa mo ne mo agyanom no so.

Even up to now you haven't shown any remorse or reverence. You haven't followed my rules and regulations I gave you and your forefathers.

11 “Enti, deɛ Asafo Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ nie: Masi mʼadwene pi sɛ mede amanehunu bɛba mo so na masɛe Yuda nyinaa.

So this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster and to wipe out everyone from Judah.

12 Mɛfa Yuda nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔsii wɔn adwene pi sɛ wɔbɛkɔ Misraim akɔtena hɔ no. Wɔn nyinaa bɛwuwu wɔ Misraim; wɔbɛtotɔ akofena ano anaa ɛkɔm bɛkum wɔn. Ɛfiri akumaa so kɔsi ɔkɛseɛ so, akofena ne ɛkɔm bɛkunkum wɔn. Wɔbɛyɛ nnomedeɛ, ahodwiredeɛ, afɔbudeɛ ne ahohora.

I'm going to destroy you who are left who decided to go to Egypt to live there. You will die there, killed by the sword or by famine. Whoever you are, from the least to the most important, you're going to die by sword or by famine; and you will become a curse word, something horrible, an insult, an expression of condemnation.

13 Mede akofena, ɛkɔm ne ɔyaredɔm bɛtwe wɔn a wɔtete Misraim aso, sɛdeɛ metwee Yerusalem aso no.

I'm going to punish you who live in Egypt like I punished Jerusalem, by war and famine and disease.

14 Yuda nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔakɔtena Misraim no mu biara rennwane, na wɔremfa wɔn ho nni na wɔasane aba Yuda, asase a wɔpɛ sɛ wɔsane bɛtena so no; wɔn mu biara remma bio, gye sɛ adwanefoɔ kakraa bi.”

Nobody who is left from Judah who has gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the country of Judah. You long to go back and live there, but nobody will return except a few stragglers.

15 Afei, mmarima a na wɔnim sɛ wɔn yerenom hye nnuhwam ma anyame foforɔ, wɔne mmaa a wɔwɔ hɔ no nyinaa ne nnipa a wɔwɔ Misraim Atifi fam ne Anafoɔ fam ka kyerɛɛ Yeremia sɛ,

All the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were there, a great crowd of people, those living in Egypt and Upper Egypt all told Jeremiah,

16 “Yɛrentie asɛm a waka akyerɛ yɛn wɔ Awurade din mu no!

“Even though you say this message is from the Lord, we're not going to listen to you”

17 Ampa ara yɛbɛyɛ biribiara a yɛkaa sɛ yɛbɛyɛ: Yɛbɛhye nnuhwam ama Ɔsoro Hemmaa na yɛahwie ahwiesa ama no, sɛdeɛ yɛ ne yɛn agyanom, ahemfo ne adwumayɛfoɔ yɛɛ wɔ Yuda nkuro ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so pɛpɛɛpɛ. Saa ɛberɛ no na yɛwɔ aduane, na yɛdi yie a yɛnni ɔhaw biara nso.

In fact we're going to do everything we said we would. We'll burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to worship her as we did before, just like our fathers, our kings, and our officials who did the same things in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had plenty of food and we were well off and nothing bad happened to us.

18 Nanso ɛfiri ɛberɛ a yɛgyaee nnuhwam a yɛhye ma Ɔsoro Hemmaa, na yɛgyaee ahwiesa a yɛde ma no no, biribiara abɔ yɛn na yɛrewuwu wɔ akofena ne ɛkɔm ano.”

But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to worship her, we've lost everything and have been dying as a result of war and famine.

19 Na mmaa no nso ka kaa ho sɛ, “Ɛberɛ a yɛhyee nnuhwam maa Ɔsoro Hemmaa na yɛhwiee ahwiesa maa no no, na yɛn kununom nnim sɛ yɛto ɔfam a ɛyɛ ne sɛso, hwie ahwiesa ma no anaa?”

“On top of that,” the women added, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to worship her, did we do this without our husbands knowing about it, that we baked cakes stamped with her image and poured out drink offerings to worship her?”

20 Na Yeremia ka kyerɛɛ nnipa no nyinaa, mmarima ne mmaa a wɔrebua noɔ no sɛ,

Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who were responding to him,

21 “Mosusu sɛ, Awurade nnim sɛ na mo ne mo agyanom, mo ahemfo, adwumayɛfoɔ ne ɔmanfoɔ no hye nnuhwam ma ahoni wɔ Yuda nkuro so ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so anaa?

“About that incense you burned to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, as well as your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the ordinary people—don't you think the Lord wouldn't remember and think about it?

22 Ɛberɛ a mo amumuyɛ ne akyiwadeɛ a moyɛeɛ no fonoo Awurade no, mo asase danee nnomedeɛ ne amanfo a obiara nte so, sɛdeɛ ɛte ɛnnɛ yi.

The Lord couldn't take it anymore—the evil things you did and your disgusting acts—so your country was turned into an uninhabited wasteland, a place of horror and a curse word to others, as it still is today.

23 Esiane sɛ moahye nnuhwam, ayɛ bɔne atia Awurade, na moannyɛ ɔsetie amma no, na moanni ne mmara, nʼahyɛdeɛ ne nʼadansesɛm soɔ enti, amanehunu aba mo so sɛdeɛ mohunu yi.”

As you can see today, the disaster you've experienced happened because you burned incense to other gods and sinned against the Lord, refusing to listen to the Lord or to follow his instructions, his rules, and his regulations.”

24 Afei, Yeremia ka kyerɛɛ nnipa no nyinaa a mmaa no ka ho sɛ, “Mo Yudafoɔ a mowɔ Misraim nyinaa montie Awurade asɛm.

Then Jeremiah told everyone, including all the women, “Listen to the Lord's message, all you people from Judah living here in Egypt.

25 Yei ne deɛ Asafo Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ: Mo ne mo yerenom de mo nneyɛɛ akyerɛ mo bɔ a mohyɛɛ sɛ, ‘Ampa ara yɛbɛdi ɛbɔ a yɛhyɛɛ sɛ, yɛbɛhye nnuhwam ahwie ahwiesa ama Ɔsoro Hemmaa no, no so.’ “Monkɔ so, monni mo bɔhyɛ ne mo ntam so!

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives, you've said what you're going to do, and you've done what you said! You said, ‘We're going to keep our promise to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to worship her.’ So go ahead! Do what you've said! Keep your promises!

26 Nanso, montie Awurade asɛm, mo Yudafoɔ a mowɔ Misraim nyinaa. ‘Mede me din kɛseɛ no ka ntam sɛ,’ deɛ Awurade seɛ nie, ‘obiara a ɔfiri Yuda a ɔte Misraim asase so baabiara remmɔ me din nka ntam bio da sɛ, “Sɛ Otumfoɔ Awurade te ase yi.”

But even so, listen to what the Lord says, all you people from Judah living here in Egypt: I guarantee by all that I am, says the Lord, that none of you living in the Egypt will ever use my name or swear, ‘As the Lord God lives.’

27 Na mɛhwɛ ama wɔahunu amane na ɛnyɛ yiedie; Yudafoɔ a wɔwɔ Misraim bɛwuwu wɔ akofena ne ɛkɔm ano kɔsi sɛ wɔbɛsɛe wɔn nyinaa.

I will take care of them in the bad sense, and not in the good sense. All the people from Judah who are in Egypt will die by sword or famine, until they are wiped out.

28 Wɔn a wɔbɛdwane afiri akofena ano na wasane afiri Misraim akɔ Yuda asase so no bɛyɛ kakraa bi. Afei Yuda nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔbɛtenaa Misraim no nyinaa bɛhunu deɛ nʼasɛm yɛ nokorɛ; me deɛ anaa wɔn deɛ.

Those who manage to avoid being killed by the sword will go back to Judah from Egypt. But there will only be a few of them, and then all who were left from Judah and went to live in Egypt will know who's telling the truth—me or them!

29 “‘Yei na ɛbɛyɛ nsɛnkyerɛnneɛ ama mo sɛ mɛtwe mo aso wɔ ha, na mo ahunu sɛ ampa ara mʼahunahuna a ɛfa ɔhaw ho no bɛba mu,’ Awurade na ɔseɛ.

This is your sign to prove that I'm going to punish you here, declares the Lord, so that you'll know for certain that my threats against you will really happen.

30 ‘Mede Misraimhene Farao Hofra rebɛhyɛ nʼatamfoɔ a wɔpɛ sɛ wɔkum no no nsa, sɛdeɛ mede Yudahene Sedekia hyɛɛ Babiloniahene Nebukadnessar, ne ɔtamfoɔ a na ɔrepɛ no akum no no nsa. Yei ne deɛ Awurade seɛ.’”

This is what the Lord says: Look! I'm going to hand over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to his enemies who are trying to kill him, in the same way that I handed over Zedekiah king of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who was trying to kill him.”