Asɔfoɔ No Animka
1Afei mo asɔfoɔ, saa animka yi wɔ mo. 2Sɛ moantie, sɛ moannyɛ mo adwene sɛ mobɛhyɛ me animuonyam a, mede nnome bɛba mo so, na mɛdane mo nhyira ama ayɛ nnome. Aane, madome mo dada, ɛfiri sɛ monyɛɛ mo adwene sɛ mobɛhyɛ me animuonyam, sɛdeɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ nie.
3Mo enti mɛka mo asefoɔ anim, na mede mo afahyɛ afɔrebɔ mmoa no agyanan bɛpete mo anim, na wɔasoa mo aka ho akɔ. 4Na mobɛhunu sɛ, masoma ma wɔde saa animka yi abrɛ mo sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a me ne Lewi apam no bɛkɔ so atena hɔ. Sɛdeɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ nie. 5Me ne no yɛɛ apam, nkwa ne asomdwoeɛ apam. Na apam no botaeɛ ne sɛ ɛbɛma Lewi nkwa ne asomdwoeɛ, enti memaa no nkwa ne asomdwoeɛ. 6Nokorɛ nkyerɛkyerɛ firii nʼanom, na wanka nkontomposɛm biara. Ɔne me nantee asomdwoeɛ ne nokorɛdie mu, na ɔmaa bebree danee wɔn ho firii bɔne ho.
7“Ɛsɛ sɛ ɔsɔfoɔ ano kora nimdeɛ. Nnipa hwehwɛ nkyerɛkyerɛ firi ne nkyɛn, ɛfiri sɛ ɔyɛ Asafo Awurade no somafoɔ. 8Nanso moamane afiri ɛkwan no so, na mo nkyerɛkyerɛ ama bebree asuntisunti; moabu me ne Lewi apam no so.” Sɛdeɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ nie. 9“Enti, mama mo anim agu ase na mabrɛ mo ase wɔ nnipa anim, ɛfiri sɛ moannante mʼakwan so na mmom mode animhwɛ abu mmara so.”
Yuda Anni Nokorɛ
10Yɛn nyinaa mfiri Agya baako anaa? Ɛnyɛ Onyankopɔn baako na ɔbɔɔ yɛn? Na, afei, adɛn enti na yɛnni yɛn ho yɛn ho nokorɛ, na yɛde bu yɛn agyanom apam no so?
11Yuda anni nokorɛ. Akyiwadeɛ bi asi wɔ Israel ne Yerusalem mu: Yuda agu hyiadan a Awurade dɔ no ho fi, ɛfiri sɛ waware ɔbaa a ɔsom ananafoɔ nyame. 12Ɔbarima a ɔyɛ yei deɛ, sɛdeɛ ɔteɛ biara, Awurade mpam no mfiri Yakob ntomadan mu, mpo sɛ ɔde afɔrebɔdeɛ rebrɛ Asafo Awurade no koraa a.
13Adeɛ a moyɛ bio ne sɛ: mode nisuo fɔ Awurade afɔrebukyia no. Mote nisuo na motwa adwo ɛfiri sɛ ɔnhwɛ mo afɔrebɔdeɛ no bio, na ɔmmfa anigyeɛ nnye mfiri mo nkyɛn. 14Mobisa sɛ, “Adɛn nti?” Ɛfiri sɛ Awurade te sɛ ɔdanseni a ɔda wo ne wo mmeranteberɛ mu yere ntam, a woanni no nokorɛ.
15Ɛnyɛ Awurade korɔ no ara na ɔbɔɔ mo? Ɔhonam fam ne honhom fam no, moyɛ ne dea. Deɛn na Onyankopɔn hwehwɛ? Ɔrehwehwɛ mma a onyamesuro wɔ wɔn mu. Enti da wo ho so wɔ honhom mu, na di wo mmeranteberɛ mu yere nokorɛ.
16“Mekyiri awaregyaeɛ!” Sɛdeɛ Awurade Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ nie. “Na metane ɔbarima a ɔde abufuhyeɛ hyɛ ne yere so na ɔsane de ne ntoma kata ne so,” sɛdeɛ Asafo Awurade seɛ nie.
Enti da wo ho so wɔ honhom mu, na di nokorɛ.
Atemmuo Da
17Mode mo nsɛm tuatua Awurade aso.
Mobisa sɛ, “Ɛkwan bɛn so na moatuatua nʼaso?”
Moka sɛ, “Wɔn a wɔyɛ bɔne nyinaa tene wɔ Awurade anim, na wɔsɔ nʼani,” anaa “Onyankopɔn ɔtemmufoɔ nokwafoɔ no wɔ he?”
Additional warning to the priests
1‘And now, you priests, this warning is for you. 2If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honour my name,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honour me.
3‘Because of you I will rebuke your descendants2:3 Or will blight your corn; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. 4And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,’ says the Lord Almighty. 5‘My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
7‘For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,’ says the Lord Almighty. 9‘So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.’
Breaking covenant through divorce
10Do we not all have one Father2:10 Or father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?
11Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. 12As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob2:12 Or 12 May the Lord remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony on behalf of the man who does this – even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.
13Another thing you do: you flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favour on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
15Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
16‘The man who hates and divorces his wife,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘does violence to the one he should protect,’2:16 Or ‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,’ says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
Breaking covenant through injustice
17You have wearied the Lord with your words.
‘How have we wearied him?’ you ask.
By saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them’ or ‘Where is the God of justice?’
