2 Chronicles 16

1 When Asa had been ruling [Judah] for almost 36 years, King Baasha of Israel went [with his army] to attack Judah. They [captured the town of] Ramah [north of Jerusalem] and started to build a wall around [it], in order to prevent any people from entering or leaving the area in Judah that was ruled by King Asa [because the only road into Judah from Israel went through Ramah].

Katika mwaka wa thelathini na sita wa utawala wa Asa, Mfalme Baasha wa Israeli akashambulia Yuda na kuweka ngome mji wa Rama ili kumzuia yeyote asitoke wala kuingia nchi ya Mfalme Asa wa Yuda.

2 So Asa told his workers to take all the silver and gold that was in the storerooms of the temple and in his own palace, and take and give it to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, who was ruling in Damascus. [He sent him a message, ] saying

Ndipo Asa akachukua fedha na dhahabu kutoka hazina ya Hekalu la Bwana na kutoka jumba lake mwenyewe la kifalme na kumpelekea Ben-Hadadi mfalme wa Aramu, ambaye alikuwa anatawala huko Dameski.

3 “I want there to be a peace treaty between me and you, like there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you [a lot of] silver and gold. So please cancel the treaty that you have made with Baasha, the king of Israel, in order that he will take his soldiers away from attacking mine, [because he will be afraid of your army].”

Akasema, “Pawepo na mkataba kati yangu na wewe, kama ulivyokuwepo kati ya baba yangu na baba yako. Tazama, nimekuletea fedha na dhahabu. Sasa vunja mkataba wako na Baasha mfalme wa Israeli ili aniondokee mimi.”

4 Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa [suggested]. He sent the commanders of his armies [with their soldiers] to attack some of the towns in Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah and all the cities in the area belonging to the tribe of Naphtali where supplies were kept.

Ben-Hadadi akakubaliana na Mfalme Asa na kutuma majemadari wa majeshi yake dhidi ya miji ya Israeli. Wakashinda Iyoni, Dani, Abel-Maimu na miji yote ya hazina ya Naftali.

5 When Baasha heard about that, he [commanded his troops to] stop fortifying Ramah and doing other work there.

Baasha aliposikia jambo hili, akasimamisha kujenga Rama na kuacha kazi yake.

6 Then King Asa gathered all the men of Judah, and they took away from Ramah all the stones and timber that Baasha’s men had been using [to build the wall around that town]. They took those materials to [the town of] Geba and [the city of] Mizpah [north of Jerusalem] and built walls around them.

Ndipo Mfalme Asa akawaleta watu wote wa Yuda, nao wakachukua mawe na miti ambayo Baasha alikuwa anavitumia huko Rama. Kwa vitu hivyo akajenga Geba na Mispa.

7 At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on Yahweh our God, you missed your opportunity to destroy the army of the king of Syria.

Ikawa wakati huo mwonaji Hanani akamjia Mfalme Asa wa Yuda na kumwambia: “Kwa sababu ulimtegemea mfalme wa Aramu nawe hukumtegemea Bwana Mungu wako, jeshi la mfalme wa Aramu limeponyoka mkononi mwako.

8 The huge armies from Ethiopia and Libya with all their chariots and soldiers [riding] on horses [were certainly very powerful. But] when you relied on Yahweh, he enabled your army to defeat them.

Je, hukumbuki lililotendeka kwa Wakushi na Walibia, hawakuwa jeshi lenye nguvu na magari mengi ya vita na wapanda farasi? Hata hivyo, ulipomtegemea Bwana yeye aliwatia mkononi mwako.

9 That happened because Yahweh sees [what is happening] all over the earth, and he strengthens those who completely trust him. You have done a very foolish thing, so from now on other armies will be fighting your army.”

Kwa kuwa macho ya Bwana hukimbiakimbia duniani kote ili kujionyesha mwenye nguvu kwa ajili ya wale ambao mioyo yao inamtegemea kwa ukamilifu. Umefanya jambo la upumbavu na kuanzia sasa na kuendelea utakuwa na vita.”

10 Asa was very angry with the prophet because of what the prophet had said. So he [commanded his officials to] put Hanani in prison. At that same time, he started to treat some of his people very cruelly.

Asa akamkasirikia mwonaji kwa sababu ya jambo hili. Alikuwa ameghadhibika sana hata akamweka gerezani. Wakati huo huo Asa akaanza kuwatesa na kuwaonea baadhi ya watu kwa ukatili.

11 All the things that Asa did while he was ruling, from the time he started to rule until he died, are written in the scroll containing the record of the [activities of the] kings of Judah and Israel.

Matukio ya utawala wa Asa, kuanzia mwanzo mpaka mwisho, yameandikwa katika kitabu cha wafalme wa Yuda na Israeli.

12 When Asa had been ruling for almost 39 years, he was afflicted with a disease in his feet. The disease was very severe, but in spite of that, he did not request help from Yahweh. Instead he sought help only from doctors.

Katika mwaka wa thelathini na tisa wa utawala wake, Asa alipatwa na ugonjwa kwenye miguu yake. Ingawa ugonjwa wake ulimzidia sana, hata katika kuugua kwake hakutafuta msaada kutoka kwa Bwana bali kwa matabibu tu.

13 When he had been ruling for almost 40 years, he died.

Katika mwaka wa arobaini na moja wa utawala wa Asa, alikufa na kulala na baba zake.

14 He was buried in the tomb that his workers had made for him in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. They laid his corpse on a bed covered with spices and various perfumes that had been mixed together. They also lit a huge fire to honor him.

Nao wakamzika katika kaburi lile alilokuwa amejichongea mwenyewe katika Mji wa Daudi. Wakamzika kwa jeneza lililowekwa vikolezi na mchanganyiko wa manukato ya aina mbalimbali yaliyotengenezwa kwa utaalamu wa mtengeneza marashi, nao wakawasha moto mkubwa kwa heshima yake.