< Atemmufoɔ 2 >

1 Na Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ firi Gilgal kɔɔ Bokim de nkra kɔmaa Israelfoɔ sɛ, “Meyii mo firii Misraim, de mo baa asase a mekaa ho ntam sɛ mede bɛma mo agyanom no so. Mekaa sɛ, Meremmu mʼapam a me ne mo ayɛ no so.
Yahweh [appeared in the form of] an angel [and] went up from Gilgal to [a place that was later called] Bokim. He said [to the Israeli people], “I brought your [ancestors] up here from Egypt. I led them into this land that I solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. I said to them, ‘The agreement that I made with you, as for me, I will never (break it/say that it is ended).
2 Mo fam deɛ ne sɛ, mo ne nnipa a wɔte asase yi so no nnyɛ apam biara na mmom mobɛsɛe wɔn afɔrebukyia nyinaa. Na adɛn enti na moanni me mmaransɛm so?
But as for you, you must never make a peace agreement with the people who live in this land. You must tear down the altars [where they make sacrifices to idols].’ But you have not obeyed me.
3 Deɛ moayɛ yi enti, merempam nnipa a wɔtete mo asase so no. Wɔbɛyɛ mo nkyɛnmu nkasɛɛ na wɔn anyame nso ayɛ mfidie ama mo.”
So now, I am telling you that I will not expel [your enemies] as you advance. They will be like thorns in your sides. And [they] will try to trap you [by making you worship] their idols.”
4 Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ kasa wieeɛ no Israelfoɔ no suu denden.
After he told that to all the Israelis, the people cried loudly.
5 Enti wɔtoo beaeɛ hɔ edin “Agyaadwotwa”. Na wɔbɔɔ afɔdeɛ wɔ hɔ maa Awurade.
They called that place Bokim, [which means ‘weeping’]. There they offered sacrifices to Yahweh.
6 Yosua gyaa nkurɔfoɔ no kwan akyi no, mmusuakuo no mu biara kɔfaa nʼagyapadeɛ a wɔde maa no sɛ ne kyɛfa no.
After Joshua sent the Israeli people away, each group went to possess the land that had been allotted to them.
7 Na Israelfoɔ no somm Awurade wɔ Yosua ne mpanimfoɔ a wɔanyini sene Yosua a wɔhunuu nneɛma akɛseɛ a Awurade yɛ maa Israel, Yosua nkwa nna nyinaa mu no.
They served Yahweh as long as Joshua was alive, and as long as the elders, those who had seen all the great things that Yahweh had done for Israel, were alive.
8 Afei, Nun babarima Yosua, Awurade ɔsomfoɔ wuiɛ a na wadi mfirinhyia ɔha ne edu.
Then Yahweh’s servant Joshua died. He was 110 years old when he died.
9 Wɔsiee no wɔ nʼawunya asase a na ɛwɔ Timnat-Heres, Efraim bepɔ asase no a ɛwɔ Gaas bepɔ no atifi fam no.
They buried his body in the area he had received [from Moses], at Timnath-Serah, in the area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, north of Gaash Mountain.
10 Saa awoɔ ntoatoasoɔ no akyi no, awoɔ ntoatoasoɔ foforɔ nyiniiɛ a na wɔnnim Awurade, na wɔnkae nneɛma akɛseɛ a wayɛ ama Israel.
After all the people died who lived at the same time as Joshua [EUP], a group of people grew up who did not know Yahweh, and did not know what great things he had done for the Israeli people.
11 Na Israelfoɔ no yɛɛ deɛ ɛnyɛ wɔ Awurade ani so, na wɔsom Baalim ahoni.
They did things that Yahweh said were very evil. They worshiped [idols that represented the god] Baal and the goddess Astarte. They worshiped [DOU] the various gods that the people-groups around them worshiped. They stopped worshiping Yahweh, the God their ancestors worshiped, the one who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt. That caused Yahweh to be very angry.
12 Wɔgyaa Awurade, wɔn agyanom Onyankopɔn a ɔyii wɔn firii Misraim no. Wɔdii anyame foforɔ akyi, somm saa anyame no a ɛyɛ nnipa a wɔatwa wɔn ho ahyia no dea. Na wɔmaa Awurade bo fuiɛ.
13 Wɔgyaa Awurade akyi die, kɔsom Baalim ne Astoret ahoni.
14 Yei maa Awurade bo fuu Israel, enti ɔde wɔn hyɛɛ afomfafoɔ nsa, ma wɔwiaa wɔn ahodeɛ. Ɔtɔn wɔn maa wɔn atamfoɔ a wɔatwa wɔn ho ahyia, na wɔantumi annyina wɔn ano.
So he allowed people from other groups to raid them and steal their crops and animals. They were no longer able to resist their enemies, and Yahweh allowed all their enemies around them to defeat them.
15 Ɛberɛ biara a Israelfoɔ bɛkɔ ɔko no, Awurade ko tia wɔn ma wɔdi nkoguo, sɛdeɛ ɔhyɛɛ bɔ no. Enti, wɔn ho hiahiaa wɔn papaapa.
Whenever the Israelis went to fight [their enemies], Yahweh [MTY] was opposing them, and allowed their enemies to defeat them, just as he had promised he would do. So the Israelis were greatly distressed.
16 Afei, Awurade pagyaa atemmufoɔ ma wɔbɛgyee Israelfoɔ firi wɔn atamfoɔ nsam.
Then Yahweh gave leaders to them. These leaders rescued the Israelis from the people who were raiding them.
17 Nanso, Israelfoɔ no antie atemmufoɔ no. Wɔkɔɔ so de wɔn ho bɔɔ anyame foforɔ, kotoo wɔn. Wɔtwee wɔn ho ntɛm so firii wɔn agyanom a wɔyɛɛ ɔsetie maa Awurade mmaransɛm no kwan so.
But the Israelis still would not pay attention to their leaders. Instead, they went to the idols, [acting like] prostitutes [who gave themselves to men who were not their husbands] [MET], and they worshiped those idols. They were not like their ancestors. Their ancestors obeyed what Yahweh commanded, but their descendants quickly stopped behaving as their ancestors had behaved.
18 Ɛberɛ biara a Awurade de ɔtemmufoɔ bi bɛdua Israel so no, na ɔka saa ɔtemmufoɔ no ho na ɔgye nnipa no firi wɔn atamfoɔ no nsam wɔ saa ɔtemmufoɔ no nkwa nna nyinaa mu. Ɛfiri sɛ, Awurade hunuu ne nkurɔfoɔ a wɔredi wɔn nya na wɔrehunu amane no mmɔbɔ.
Whenever Yahweh gave a leader to them, he helped that leader and enabled him to rescue the people from their enemies. He helped them like that as long as that leader was alive. Yahweh pitied them as they groaned because they were being oppressed and caused to suffer.
19 Nanso, atemmufoɔ no wuo akyi no, nnipa no sane kɔɔ wɔn bra bɔne no mu a, afei na wɔasɛesɛe sene wɔn a wɔdii wɔn anim ɛkan no. Wɔdii anyame foforɔ akyi. Wɔkotoo wɔn, somm wɔn. Na wɔampɛ sɛ wɔgyae wɔn nnebɔnesɛm ne kɔnseneeɛsɛm no.
But after that leader died, the people went back to behaving in ways even more evil than their ancestors had behaved. They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them and did all [LIT] the things that they thought those gods wanted them to do.
20 Enti, Awurade bo fuu Israel. Ɔkaa sɛ, “Esiane sɛ saa nnipa yi abu apam a me ne wɔn agyanom yɛeɛ so, na wɔapo me mmaransɛm enti,
So Yahweh was very angry with the Israeli people. He said, “These people have disobeyed the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not done what I told them to do.
21 merempamo aman a Yosua anni wɔn so ansa na ɔrewuo no.
So I will no longer expel the people-groups that Joshua left in this land when he died.
22 Meyɛɛ yei de sɔɔ Israel hwɛeɛ sɛ wɔbɛtie Awurade sɛdeɛ wɔn agyanom yɛeɛ no.”
I will use them to test the Israeli people to see whether they will do what I want them to do, as their ancestors did.”
23 Ɛno enti na amma Awurade ampam aman no ntɛm so na wamma Yosua ammɛdi wɔn nyinaa so no.
Yahweh had allowed those people-groups to stay in that land. He did not expel them by allowing Joshua [and his men] to defeat them.

< Atemmufoɔ 2 >