Nehemia 9
1 Bosome Tisri (bɛyɛ Ahinime) ɛda a ɛtɔ so aduasa baako no, ɔmanfoɔ no boaa wɔn ho ano, dii mmuada, firaa ayitoma, tuu mfuturo petee wɔn tirim.
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
2 Ɛberɛ a wɔreka wɔn ankasa bɔne ne wɔn agyanom bɔne no, Israelfoɔ no twee wɔn ho firii ananafoɔ nyinaa ho.
Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 Wɔkenkan Awurade, wɔn Onyankopɔn, mmara nwoma no den bɛyɛ sɛ nnɔnhwere mmiɛnsa kyerɛɛ wɔn. Afei, wɔde nnɔnhwere mmiɛnsa bio kekaa wɔn bɔne nnidisoɔ nnidisoɔ wɔ ɛberɛ a na wɔresom Awurade, wɔn Onyankopɔn.
While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.
4 Na Lewifoɔ no bi gyina ntrapoe so reteam frɛ Awurade, wɔn Onyankopɔn. Saa nnipa no ne Yesua, Bani, Kadmiel, Sebania, Buni, Serebia, Bani ne Kenani.
And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.
5 Afei, Lewifoɔ ntuanofoɔ a wɔne Yesua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hasabnia, Serebia, Hodia, Sebania ne Petahia teaam frɛɛ ɔmanfoɔ no sɛ, “Monsɔre nkamfo Awurade, mo Onyankopɔn, ɛfiri sɛ, ɔte hɔ afebɔɔ!” Wɔtoaa so sɛ, “Monkamfo ne din kronkron no. Ɛso sene sɛdeɛ yɛbɛtumi adwene anaa deɛ yɛbɛka.
Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
6 Wo nko ara ne Awurade. Wo na wobɔɔ ɔsoro ne ɔsoro mu ɔsoro ne nsoromma nyinaa. Wo na wobɔɔ asase ne deɛ ɛwɔ so nyinaa ne ɛpo ne deɛ ɛwɔ mu nyinaa. Wo na wokora biribiara so ma no nkwa, na ɔsoro abɔfoɔ nyinaa som wo.
You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.
7 “Woyɛ Awurade Onyankopɔn a woyii Abram firii Ur a ɛwɔ Kaldea asase so, sane too no edin Abraham.
You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
8 Ɔdii wo nokorɛ no, wo ne no yɛɛ apam sɛ, wode Kanaanfoɔ, Hetifoɔ, Perisifoɔ Yebusifoɔ ne Girgasifoɔ asase bɛma ɔne nʼasefoɔ. Na wodii wo bɔhyɛ so, ɛfiri sɛ, daa wodi wʼasɛm so.
You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites— to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous.
9 “Wohunuu amane ne awerɛhoɔ a yɛn agyanom kɔɔ mu wɔ Misraim, na wotee wɔn su firi Ɛpo Kɔkɔɔ no ho.
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10 Woyɛɛ nsɛnkyerɛnneɛ a ɛyɛ hu ne anwanwadeɛ kyerɛɛ Farao, nʼasomfoɔ ne ne manfoɔ nyinaa, ɛfiri sɛ, na wonim nhyɛsoɔ ɛkwan a na Misraimfoɔ no de wɔn fa so. Wowɔ animuonyam a ahyeta a ani mpa so da.
You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself that endures to this day.
11 Wopaee ɛpo mu maa wo nkurɔfoɔ, sɛdeɛ wɔbɛtumi afa asase wesee so. Na wopuaa wɔn atamfoɔ guu ɛpo bunu mu. Wɔmemem sɛ aboɔ wɔ nsubunu a emu dɔ no ase.
You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
12 Wonam omununkum fadum so dii yɛn agyanom anim awia ne ogya fadum so, dii wɔn anim anadwo sɛdeɛ wɔbɛhunu ɛkwan.
You led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they should travel.
13 “Wosianee bepɔ Sinai, kasa kyerɛɛ wɔn firi ɔsoro. Wode mmara a ɛyɛ turodoo ne ahyɛdeɛ a ɛyɛ nokorɛ brɛɛ wɔn.
You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
14 Wokyerɛɛ wɔn mmara a ɛfa wo homeda kronkron ho. Na wonam wo ɔsomfoɔ Mose so hyɛɛ wɔn sɛdeɛ wɔnsi nni wʼahyɛdeɛ ne wo mmara no nyinaa so.
You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.
15 Ɛberɛ a ɛkɔm de wɔn no, womaa wɔn burodo a ɛfiri ɔsoro ne nsuo a ɛfiri ɔbotan mu wɔ ɛberɛ a sukɔm de wɔn no. Wohyɛɛ wɔn sɛ wɔnkɔfa asase a woaka ho ntam sɛ wode bɛma wɔn no.
In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
16 “Nanso, yɛn agyanom yɛɛ ahantan ne asoɔden, na wɔanni wʼahyɛdeɛ so.
But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.
17 Wɔantie, na wɔankae wʼanwanwadeɛ a woyɛ maa wɔn no. Mmom, wɔyɛɛ dɔm yii ntuanoni sɛ ɔnsane mfa wɔn nkɔ wɔn nkoasom mu wɔ Misraim. Nanso, woyɛ ɔfakyɛfoɔ, ahummɔborɔ ne ɔdomfoɔ Onyankopɔn a wo bo kyɛre fu na wʼadɔeɛ dɔɔso. Woannyaa wɔn
They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.
18 wɔ ɛberɛ a wɔyɛɛ ohoni sɛso a ɔte sɛ nantwie ba na wɔkaa sɛ, ‘Yei ne mo nyame a ɔyii mo firii Misraim no.’ Wɔyɛɛ bɔne, kekaa abususɛm a ɛyɛ hu.
Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,
19 “Nanso, wo mmɔborɔhunu mu, woannyaa wɔn amma wɔanwuwu wɔ ɛserɛ no so. Omununkum fadum no kɔɔ so dii wɔn anim awia, na ogya fadum no kyerɛɛ wɔn ɛkwan anadwo.
You in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.
20 Wosomaa wo honhom pa no kyerɛɛ wɔn deɛ wɔnyɛ, na woannyae sɛ wobɛma wɔn burodo afiri soro anaa nsuo wɔ ɛberɛ a sukɔm de wɔn.
You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.
21 Wohwɛɛ wɔn so mfeɛ aduanan wɔ ɛserɛ so. Saa ɛberɛ no, biribiara anhia wɔn. Wɔn ntadeɛ antete, na wɔn anan ase antaatae.
For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 “Woboaa yɛn agyanom, ma wɔdii ahemman akɛseɛ ne aman bebree so, na wode wo nkurɔfoɔ duaa aman no afanan nyinaa so. Wɔfaa ɔhene Sihon a ɔfiri Hesbon ne Basanhene Og asase no nyinaa.
You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.
23 Womaa wɔn asefoɔ dɔɔso sɛ ɔsoro nsoromma, na wode wɔn baa asase a woahyɛ wɔn agyanom ho bɔ no so.
You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
24 Wɔkɔfaa asase no. Wobrɛɛ aman no nyinaa ase wɔ wɔn anim. Na, mpo, ahemfo ne Kanaanfoɔ a wɔtenaa asase no so no tumi saeɛ. Wo nkurɔfoɔ ne wɔn dii no sɛdeɛ wɔpɛ.
So their descendants went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land. You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land, to do with them as they wished.
25 Yɛn agyanom faa nkuro a wɔabɔ ho ban ne nsase bereɛ no. Wɔfaa afie a nnepa wɔ mu ne nsuseneeɛ a wɔatutu dada no ne bobefuo ne ngofuo ne nnuabafuo no bebree. Enti, wɔdidiiɛ ara kɔsii sɛ wɔdodɔreeɛ, yɛɛ akɛseɛ, na wɔn ani gyee wɔn ho wɔ wo nhyira mu.
They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.
26 “Nanso, yeinom nyinaa akyi no, wɔyɛɛ asoɔden, yɛɛ dɔm tiaa wo. Wɔtoo wo mmara no guu nkyɛn. Wɔkunkumm adiyifoɔ no a wɔhyɛɛ wɔn nkuran sɛ wɔnsane mmra wo nkyɛn no, na wɔkaa abususɛm a ɛyɛ hu.
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
27 Enti, wode wɔn hyɛɛ wɔn atamfoɔ nsa. Nanso, wɔn amanehunu mu no, wɔsu frɛɛ wo, na wotiee wɔn firi ɔsoro. Na ahummɔborɔ a ɛso mu, wosomaa agyefoɔ a wɔgyee wɔn firii wɔn atamfoɔ nsam.
So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.
28 “Nanso, na nneɛma nyinaa rekɔ so yie no, wo manfoɔ sane kɔɔ bɔne mu bio, na wosane maa wɔn atamfoɔ dii wɔn so. Nanso, ɛberɛ biara a wo nkurɔfoɔ bɛsu afrɛ wo bio, apɛ mmoa no, wotiee bio firi ɔsoro. Wʼahummɔborɔ nwanwa enti, wogyee wɔn ntoatoasoɔ.
But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.
29 “Wobɔɔ wɔn kɔkɔ sɛ, wɔnsane mmɛdi wo mmara no so nanso, wɔyɛɛ ahomasoɔ ne asoɔden a wɔanni wʼahyɛdeɛ no so. Wɔanni wo mmara a sɛ nnipa di so a, wɔnam so bɛnya nkwa. Nanso, wɔnam ahomasoɔ so danee wɔn akyi kyerɛɛ wo a wɔampɛ sɛ wɔbɛtie wo.
You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.
30 Wo dɔ enti, wonyaa wɔn ho ntoboaseɛ mfeɛ bebree. Wosomaa wo honhom a ɔnam adiyifoɔ so bɔɔ wɔn kɔkɔ faa wɔn bɔne ho. Nanso, ɛkɔka he ara a, wɔntie. Enti, bio, womaa abosonsomfoɔ a wɔwɔ asase yi so no ho kwan, ma wɔdii wɔn so.
You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
31 Nanso, wo mmɔborɔhunu a ɛdɔɔso enti, woantɔre wɔn ase anaa woannyaa wɔn afebɔɔ. Woyɛ ɔdomfoɔ ne ahummɔborɔ Onyankopɔn.
But in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them; nor did You forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.
32 “Afei, yɛn Onyankopɔn, ɔkɛseɛ, otumfoɔ ne ɔnwanwani Onyankopɔn a ne dɔ apam a ɔyɛeɛ no ɔmmu so, mma yɛn amanehunu a yɛkɔɔ mu no nyinaa nnyɛ ɔkwa wɔ wʼanim. Ɔhaw kɛseɛ aba yɛn ne yɛn ahemfo, yɛn ahenemma ne asɔfoɔ ne adiyifoɔ ne yɛn agyanom so, firi ɛberɛ a Asiria ahemfo didii yɛn so nkonim, de bɛsi saa ɛberɛ yi.
So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.
33 Ɛberɛ biara a wobɛtwe yɛn aso no, na ɛfata. Yɛayɛ bɔne kɛseɛ a wotwe yɛn aso sɛdeɛ ɛsɛ wɔ so.
You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
34 Yɛn ahemfo, ahenemma, asɔfoɔ, ne yɛn agyanom no anni wo mmara so anaa wʼahyɛdeɛ ne wo kɔkɔbɔ denden no so.
Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
35 Mpo, ɛberɛ a wɔn ankasa nyaa wɔn ahemman no, wɔansom wo wɔ ɛberɛ a woahwie wʼayamyɛ adom agu wɔn so no. Womaa wɔn nsase pa akɛseɛ nanso, wɔannu wɔn ho amfiri wɔn amumuyɛsɛm ho.
For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
36 “Enti, seesei, yɛyɛ nkoa wɔ asase a nnepa abu so wɔ so a wode maa yɛn agyanom no so. Dodoɔ yi nyinaa mu, yɛyɛ nkoa.
So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness— here we are as slaves!
37 Afudeɛ a ɛbu so boro so no nyinaa akɔdi ahemfo a ɛsiane yɛn bɔne enti, woatu wɔn sɛ wɔnhwɛ yɛn so no nsam. Wɔwɔ yɛn ne yɛn anantwie so tumi. Yɛsom wɔn sɛdeɛ wɔpɛ, na yɛwɔ ahokyere kɛseɛ mu.
Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.
38 “Yeinom nyinaa akyi, yɛnam nkurukyire so rehyɛ bɔ a emu yɛ den. Saa nsɔano krataa yi mu na yɛn ahenemma ne Lewifoɔ ne asɔfoɔ din wɔ.”
In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”
