Israel Boafo
1“Monyɛ komm wɔ mʼanim, mo nsupɔw!
Ma aman no nhyɛ wɔn ho den!
Ma wɔmmra ha mmɛkasa;
momma yɛmmɔ mu nhyia wɔ asennii hɔ.
2“Hena na wakanyan nea ofi apuei no,
afrɛ no trenee mu sɛ ɔmmɛsom no?
Ɔde aman hyɛ ne nsa
na ɔbrɛ ahemfo ase wɔ nʼanim.
Ɔde nʼafoa ma wɔdan mfutuma,
ɔde ne bɛmma ma wɔdan ntɛtɛ a mframa bɔ hwete.
3Ɔtaa wɔn na ɔkɔ nʼanim a biribiara nti ne ho,
wɔ kwan a ɔmfaa so da no so.
4Hena na wayɛ eyi akosi awiei,
afrɛ awo ntoatoaso afi mfiase?
Me Awurade, meka adikanfo
ne akyikafo ho, Mene ɔno ara.”
5Nsupɔw no ahu na wɔbɔ hu;
nsase ano ho popo.
Wotwiw bɛn, na wɔba anim;
6na obiara boa ne yɔnko
na ɔka kyerɛ ne nua se, “Yɛ den!”
7Odwumfo hyɛ sikadwumfo nkuran,
na nea ɔde asae yɛ no trontrom
boa nea ɔbɔ atommo so.
Ɔka fa nea ɔsɔw no ho se, “Eye pa ara.”
Ɔbobɔ ohoni no mu nnadewa sɛnea ɛrentu nhwe fam.
8“Nanso wo, Israel, me somfo,
Yakob, nea mayi no no,
mo, mʼadamfo Abraham asefo.
9Mefaa wo fii nsase ano,
fii nʼakyirikyiri ntwea so, na mefrɛɛ wo.
Mekae se, ‘Woyɛ me somfo’;
mapaw wo na mempoo wo ɛ.
10Enti nsuro, na mene wo wɔ hɔ;
mma wo werɛ nhow, na mene wo Nyankopɔn.
Mɛhyɛ wo den, na mɛboa wo;
mede me trenee nsa nifa bɛma wo so.
11“Wɔn a wɔn bo afuw wo no nyinaa, ampa ara
wɔn ani bewu na wɔn anim agu ase;
wɔn a wɔsɔre tia wo no
rensɛ hwee na wobewuwu.
12Ɛwɔ mu sɛ wobɛhwehwɛ wʼatamfo de,
nanso worenhu wɔn.
Wɔn a wotu wo so sa no
rensɛ hwee koraa.
13Na mene Awurade, wo Nyankopɔn,
nea okura wo nsa nifa mu
na ɔka kyerɛ wo se, Nsuro;
mɛboa wo.
14Nsuro, osunson Yakob,
Israel a wusua,
na me ankasa mɛboa wo,” Awurade na ose,
wo gyefo, Israel Ɔkronkronni no.
15“Hwɛ, mede wo bɛyɛ nhuwso apa,
a ɛyɛ amono, ano yɛ nnam na ɛwɔ ɛse bebree.
Wubehuhuw mmepɔw no so na woadwiriw wɔn,
na woama nkoko ayɛ sɛ ntɛtɛ.
16Wubehuhuw wɔn so, mframa bɛma wɔn so,
na ahum abɔ wɔn akɔ.
Nanso wʼani begye wɔ Awurade mu
na woahyɛ Israel Ɔkronkronni no anuonyam.
17“Ohiani ne mmɔborɔni kyin pɛ nsu,
nanso bi nni hɔ;
osukɔm ama wɔn tɛkrɛma so ayow.
Nanso me Awurade, mɛma wɔn mmuae.
Me, Israel Nyankopɔn, merennyaw wɔn.
18Mɛma nsubɔnten ateɛ wɔ sorɔnsorɔmmea a awu no so,
na nsuti apue wɔ abon mu.
Mɛdan nweatam ayɛ no mmura,
na nsase a awo adan nsuti bebree.
19Meduadua wɔ nweatam so,
sida, ɔkanto, ohuam ne ngonnua.
Meduadua ɔpepaw wɔ asase wosee so
asɛsɛ ne kwabɔhɔre abɔ mu,
20sɛnea nnipa behu na wɔate,
na wɔasusuw ho na wɔate ase sɛ,
Awurade nsa na ayɛ saa ade yi,
Israel ɔkronkronni no na ɔma ɛbae.
21“Bɔ wo nkuro,” Awurade na ose.
“Kyerɛkyerɛ wʼasɛm mu,” Yakob Hene na ose.
22“Fa wʼahoni no bra
na wɔmmɛka nea ebesi nkyerɛ yɛn.
Wɔmmɛka sɛnea na kan nneɛma no te nkyerɛ yɛn,
sɛnea yebedwen ho afa
na yɛahu nea ebefi mu aba.
Anaasɛ wɔmpae mu nka nneɛma a ebesi nkyerɛ yɛn.
23Monka yɛn nea ebesi daakye,
na ama yɛahu sɛ moyɛ anyame.
Monyɛ biribi, sɛ eye anaa enye,
sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a yɛn werɛ bɛhow na ehu aka yɛn.
24Nanso, monnka hwee,
na mo nnwuma so nni mfaso;
nea ɔfa mo no yɛ akyiwade.
25“Makanyan obi a ofi atifi fam na ɔreba,
nea ofi owia apuei na ɔbɔ me din.
Otiatia ahemfo so te sɛ dɔte a wɔde si dan,
te sɛ ɔnwemfo a ɔrewɔw dɔte.
26Hena na ɔkaa eyi ho asɛm fii mfiase, sɛnea anka ɛbɛma yɛahu,
anaa waka ato hɔ, sɛnea yebetumi aka se, ‘Ne de no ye’?
Obiara anka eyi,
obiara anni kan anka,
obiara ante nsɛm biara amfi wo nkyɛn.
27Me na midii kan ka kyerɛɛ Sion, ‘Hwɛ, woni!’
Memaa Yerusalem ɔsomafo a ɔde asɛmpa ba.
28Mehwɛ, nanso obiara nni hɔ,
obiara nni wɔn mu a obetu wɔn fo,
sɛ mibisa wɔn a, obiara ntumi mma mmuae.
29Hwɛ, wɔn nyinaa yɛ atorofo!
Wɔn nneyɛe nka hwee;
wɔn nsɛsode yɛ mframa ne basabasayɛ nko ara.
The Helper of Israel
1“Be silent before me, you islands!
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
2“Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every step?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.”
5The islands have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
7The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.
8“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11“All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17“The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22“Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.
25“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
