Nahum 3
1 Nnome nka mogya kuropɔn a atorɔ ne korɔno ahyɛ no ma na amanehunufoɔ mmpa mu da!
Woe to the bloody city! Full of lies and plunder, without end is the spoil.
2 Apɔnkɔkafoɔ abaa regyegye, nteaseɛnam nhankra reyɛ kirididi Apɔnkɔ rehurihuri ne nteaseɛnam redenkye denkye.
Hear the crack of the whip, hear the rattle of wheels. Galloping horses, jolting chariots.
3 Apɔnkɔ ne wɔn sotefoɔ ko kɔ wɔn anim akofena twa nyinam nyinam na mpea nso pa yerɛ yerɛ. Atɔfoɔ bebree, awufoɔ a ebi deda ebi soɔ, afunu a wɔntumi nkan wɔn dodoɔ a nnipa tiatia soɔ.
Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears glittering, a multitude of slain, a heap of bodies, no end to the corpses over which people stumble!
4 Yei nyinaa firi odwamanfoɔ bi akɔnnɔ, ntafowayifoɔ no nnaadaa dodoɔ no. Ɔno na ɔde nʼadwamammɔ tɔn amanaman na ɔde nʼabayisɛm tɔn nnipa.
“Because you acted like a whore, bewitching the nations, enticing the peoples,
5 “Me ne wo nnka,” sɛdeɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ ni, “Mɛpagya wʼatadeɛ akɔ soro. Mɛma amanaman ahunu wʼadagya na ahennie ahodoɔ nso ahunu wʼanimguaseɛ.
I am against you, Nineveh” the Lord of hosts declares. “I will strip your clothes and show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.
6 Mede efi bɛfɔre wo ho, mɛbu wo animtia na mama nnipa ahwɛ wo.
“I will fling loathsome filth at you, and make you an object of contempt, a spectacle,
7 Obiara a ɔbɛhunu wo bɛdwane afiri wo ho aka sɛ, ‘Ninewe abɔ, na hwan na ɔbɛsu no?’ Ɛhe na menya obi akyekyere wo werɛ?”
so that everyone who sees you will flee from you and say: ‘Nineveh is laid waste, who will mourn for her?’
8 Woyɛ sene Tebes a ɛda Asubɔnten Nil ho a nsuo atwa he ho ahyia anaa? Asubɔnten bɔ ne ho ban na nsuo yɛ ne fasuo.
“Are you any better than Thebes, which stood on the banks of the Nile, with waters around as a rampart, whose wall was the sea of waters?
9 Kus ne Misraim yɛ ne dɔm a wɔntumi nkan wɔn. Put ne Libia ka nʼadomfoɔ ho.
Her strength was Ethiopia and Egypt. The Libyans were her helpers, and Put with its countless people.
10 Nanso wɔfaa no dommum twaa no asuo. Wɔtoo ne mmadoma hwehwee fam ma wɔtetee wɔ mmɔntene so. Wɔbɔɔ nʼaberempɔn so ntonto, na nʼatitire nso wɔde nkɔnsɔnkɔnsɔn guguu wɔn.
Yet she was exiled and made captive. On all corners of the streets her infants were dashed to pieces. Lots were cast for her nobles, all her great ones were bound in chains.
11 Wo nso wʼani so bɛyɛ wo hagyahagya sɛ ɔsabofoɔ Na wo bɛhinta wo ho de akɔpɛ dwanekɔbea wɔ atamfoɔ nkyɛn.
“You too, Nineveh, will be drunk with fear; you too will seek a place of escape from the foe.
12 Wʼaban nyinaa te sɛ borɔdɔma nnua a aso aba foforɔ: sɛ wɔwoso a aba no tete gu ma deɛ ɔrepɛ bi adi.
All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; if shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 Hwɛ wʼakofoɔ wɔn nyinaa yɛ mmaa! Wʼasase so apono ano deda hɔ ma wʼatamfoɔ; ogya ahye wʼapono no akyiri adaban.
Your troops are weak as women before your foes; the gates of your land are wide open; your defenses burned down.
14 Sesa nsuo sie ma otua no. Yere wo banbɔ mu! Wɔ dɔteɛ no na siesie ntayaa a wato no!
“Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts. Go to the clay pits and tread the clay; take up the brick moulds.
15 Ɛhɔ na ogya bɛhye woɔ; akofena bɛtwa wo ahwe fam, na ayɛ wo sɛdeɛ mmɛbɛ adi wo nam. Mo nnɔre sɛ mmɛbɛ anaa ntutummɛ!
There the fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down. Multiply like the locust or a swarm of grasshoppers.
16 Wama wʼadwadifoɔ adɔɔso, wɔn dodoɔ asene ɔsoro nsoromma, nanso wɔte sɛ ntutummɛ a wɔbɔ asase no kwaterekwa na afei wɔtu kɔ.
Increase the numbers of your merchants until they are more than the stars of heaven,
17 Wʼawɛmfoɔ te sɛ ntutummɛ. Wʼadwumayɛfoɔ te sɛ ntutummɛ akuo a wɔsensam ban ho awɔ da. Adekyeɛ mu owia pue a wɔtu kɔ, na obi nnim faako a wɔkɔ.
until your watchmen are locusts, and your scribes like grasshoppers, which swarm in the hedges on a cold day; but when the sun rises they fly away, no one knows where.
18 Ao, Asiriahene wo nnwanhwɛfoɔ retɔ nko. Wʼanimuonyamfoɔ deda hɔ rehome. Wo nkurɔfoɔ abɔ apete wɔ mmepɔ no so a wɔnni anoboaboafoɔ.
“King of Assyria: your princes slumber, your nobles sleep! Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them!
19 Aduro biara ntumi nkum wʼapirakuro no; wo pira no mu yɛ den. Obiara a ɔte wo nka no bɔ ne nsam wɔ wʼasehweɛ ho, Na hwan koraa na wommɔɔ no atirimuɔden da?
There is no healing for your hurt, your wound is incurable. All who hear of your fate clap their hands in joy, for who has escaped your limitless cruelty?”
