Bɔhyɛhene Bi A Ɔfiri Betlehem
1Mommoaboa mo akodɔm ano,
Ao akofoɔ kuropɔn,
ɛfiri sɛ, atamfoɔ atwa yɛn ho ahyia.
Wɔde abaa bɛbɔ Israel sodifoɔ no wɔ nʼafono so.
2“Nanso wo, Betlehem Efrata,
ɛwom sɛ woyɛ ketewa wɔ Yuda mmusua mu deɛ,
nanso, wo mu na obi bɛfiri ama me
a ɔbɛyɛ Israel sodifoɔ,
na nʼase firi teteete.”
3Enti wɔbɛgya Israelfoɔ mu,
kɔsi sɛ ɔbaa a awoɔ aka no no bɛwo
na ne nuanom mmarima nkaeɛ
bɛsane akɔka Israelfoɔ ho.
4Ɔbɛsɔre ahwɛ ne nnwankuo
wɔ Awurade ahoɔden mu,
wɔ Awurade ne Onyankopɔn din kɛseyɛ mu.
Na wɔbɛtena asomdwoeɛ mu, na afei
ne kɛseyɛ bɛduru asase awieeɛ.
5Na ɔbɛyɛ wɔn asomdwoeɛ.
Sɛ Asiriafoɔ bɛto hyɛ yɛn so,
na wɔbɔ nsra fa yɛn aban mu a,
yɛde nnwanhwɛfoɔ nson,
mpo ntuanofoɔ nwɔtwe bɛhyia wɔn.
6Wɔde akofena bɛdi Asiria asase so,
wɔbɛtwe akofena de adi Nimrod asase so.
Sɛ Asiriafoɔ to hyɛ yɛn so,
bɔ nsra fa yɛn ahyeɛ so a,
ɔbɛgye yɛn afiri ne nsam.
7Yakob asefoɔ nkaeɛ no
bɛfrafra nnipa bebree mu
te sɛ obosuo a ɛfiri Awurade,
te sɛ osuo a ɛpete gu ɛserɛ so
a ɛnntwɛn ɔdasani,
na ɔdasani biara rentumi nsi ho ɛkwan.
8Wɔbɛkane Yakob asefoɔ nkaeɛ no afra aman no mu,
wɔbɛfrafra nnipa bebree mu
te sɛ gyata a ɔfra mmoa mu wɔ kwaeɛ mu,
te sɛ gyata ba a ɔfra nnwankuo mu
a ɔbobɔ wɔn tete wɔn mu
na obiara ntumi nnye wɔn.
9Wɔbɛma wo nsa so sɛ woadi wʼatamfoɔ so nkonim,
na wɔbɛsɛe wʼatamfoɔ nyinaa.
10“Saa ɛda no,” sɛdeɛ Awurade seɛ nie,
“Mɛsɛe apɔnkɔ a wowɔ
na mabubu wo nteaseɛnam.
11Mɛsɛe nkuropɔn a ɛwɔ wʼasase so
na madwiri wo banbɔ denden nyinaa agu.
12Mɛsɛe wʼabayisɛm
na wo ntafowayie to bɛtwa.
13Mɛsɛe nsɛsodeɛ a wode wo nsa ayɛ
ne aboɔ ahoni a wowɔ no,
na worenkoto nsɔre
wo nsa ano adwuma bio.
14Mɛtutu Asera afɔrebukyia no afiri wo mu
na masɛe wo nkuropɔn.
15Aman a wɔantie mʼasɛm no nyinaa,
mede abufuo ne abufuhyeɛ bɛtɔ wɔn so wedeɛ.”
A Promised Ruler Will Come From Bethlehem
1Jerusalem, you are being attacked.
So bring your troops together.
Our enemies have surrounded us.
They want to slap the face of Israel’s ruler.
2The Lord says,
“Bethlehem Ephrathah, you might not be
an important town in the nation of Judah.
But out of you will come for me
a ruler over Israel.
His family line goes back
to the early years of your nation.
It goes all the way back
to days of long ago.”
3The Lord will hand over his people to their enemies.
That will last until the pregnant woman bears her promised son.
Then the rest of his relatives in Judah
will return to their land.
4That promised son will stand firm
and be a shepherd for his flock.
The Lord will give him the strength to do it.
The Lord his God will give him
the authority to rule.
His people will live safely.
His greatness will reach
from one end of the earth to the other.
5And he will be our peace
when the Assyrians attack our land.
They will march through our forts.
But we will raise up against them many shepherds.
We’ll send out against them
as many commanders as we need to.
6They will use their swords to rule over Assyria.
They’ll rule the land of Nimrod
with swords that are ready to strike.
The Assyrians will march across our borders
and attack our land.
But the promised ruler will save us from them.
7Jacob’s people who are still left alive
will be scattered among many nations.
They will be like dew the Lord has sent.
Dew doesn’t depend on any human being.
They will be like rain that falls on the grass.
Rain doesn’t wait for someone to give it orders.
8So Jacob’s people will be scattered
among many nations.
They will be like a lion
among the animals in the forest.
They’ll be like a young lion
among flocks of sheep.
Lions attack and tear apart their prey as they move along.
No one can keep them
from killing what they want.
9Lord, your power will win the battle
over your enemies.
All of them will be destroyed.
10“At that time I will destroy
your war horses,” announces the Lord.
“I will smash your chariots.
11I will destroy the cities in your land.
I will tear down all your forts.
12I will destroy your worship of evil powers.
You will no longer be able
to put a spell on anyone.
13I will destroy the statues of your gods.
I will take your sacred stones away from you.
You will no longer bow down
to the gods your hands have made.
14I will pull down the poles you used
to worship the female god named Asherah.
That will happen when I completely destroy your cities.
15I will pay back the nations
that have not obeyed me.
I will direct my anger against them.”
