2 Kings 23
1 Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [of the other places in] Judah.
Ale fia la yɔ Yuda kple Yerusalem ƒe dumegãwo ƒo ƒu.
2 They went together to the temple, along with the priests and the prophets, and many other [HYP] people, from the most important people to the least important people. And while they listened, the king read to them all of the laws that Moses had written. He read from the scroll that had been found in the temple.
Eyi Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ me kple Yuda kple Yerusalem ƒe ameawo, nunɔlawo kple nyagblɔɖilawo, tso ame gblɔetɔwo dzi va se ɖe ame gãtɔwo dzi. Exlẽ Nubabla ƒe Agbalẽ si wofɔ le Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ la me nyawo na wo.
3 Then the king stood next to the pillar [where the kings stood when they made important announcements], and while Yahweh was listening, he repeated his promise to sincerely obey [DOU] all of Yahweh’s commands and regulations [DOU]. He also promised to (fulfill the conditions of/do what was written in) the agreement he made with Yahweh. And all the people also promised to obey the agreement.
Fia la tsi tsitre ɖe sɔti la gbɔ le ameawo ŋkume. Eya kple ameawo ɖe adzɔgbe na Yehowa be yewoadze eyome, alé eƒe sewo, ɖaseɖiɖiwo, kple ɖoɖowo me ɖe asi kple dzi blibo kple luʋɔ blibo, eye yewoawɔ nubabla sia ƒe nya siwo katã woŋlɔ ɖe agbalẽ sia me la dzi; eye dukɔ blibo la bla nu.
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the Supreme Priest and all the other priests who assisted him and the men who guarded the entrance to the temple to bring out from the temple all the items that people had been using to worship Baal, the goddess Asherah, and the stars. [After they carried them out, ] they burned all those things outside the city near the Kidron Valley. Then they took all the ashes to Bethel, [because that city was already considered to be desecrated/unholy].
Ale Fia la ɖe gbe na nunɔlagã Hilkia kple nunɔla bubuawo kple agbonudzɔlawo be woaɖe nu siwo katã wowɔ na Baal, aƒeli kple dziƒoŋunuwo katã la ɖa le Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ me. Etɔ dzo wo le Yerusalem dua godo le Kidron balime eye wòlɔ dzofi la yi Betel.
5 There were many pagan priests that the previous kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the altars on the tops of hills in Judah. They had been offering sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. The king stopped them from doing those things.
Eɖe trɔ̃nua siwo Yuda fia xoxowo ɖo be woado dzudzɔ ʋeʋĩ le nuxeƒewo le Yuda duwo kple du siwo ƒo xlã Yerusalem la ɖa, ame siwo do dzudzɔ ʋeʋĩ na Baal, ɣe kple ɣleti, ɣletiviwo kple dziƒoŋunuwo.
6 He [commanded that] the statue of the goddess Asherah [be] taken out of the temple. Then they took it outside Jerusalem, down to the Kidron Brook, and burned it. Then they pounded the ashes to powder and scattered that over the graves in the public cemetery.
Eho aƒeli la ɖa le Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ la me, tsɔe yi Yerusalem godo yi ɖe Kidron tɔʋu la gbɔ. Etɔ dzoe le afi ma, tui wòzu wɔ eye wòkaka wɔ la ɖe ame gblɔewo ƒe yɔdowo dzi.
7 He also destroyed the rooms in the temple where the temple male prostitutes lived. That was where women wove robes that were used to worship the goddess Asherah.
Egbã ŋutsugbolowo ƒe xɔwo ƒu anyi, xɔ siwo nɔ Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ me, afi si nyɔnuwo hã nɔna, nɔa kundruwo lɔ̃m na aƒeli.
8 Josiah also brought [to Jerusalem] all the priests who were offering sacrifices in the other cities in Judah. He also desecrated the places on the tops of hills where the priests had burned incense [to honor idols], from Geba [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south]. Those priests were not allowed to offer sacrifices in the temple, but they [were allowed to] eat the unleavened bread that the priests [who worked in the temple] ate. He also [commanded that] the altars that were dedicated to the goat demons near the gate built by Joshua, the mayor of Jerusalem, [be] destroyed. Those altars were at the left of the main gate into the city.
Yosia kplɔ nunɔla siwo katã nɔ Yuda duwo me la gbɔe eye wòna wodo gu nuxeƒewo katã tso Geba yi ɖase ɖe Beerseba afi si nunɔlaawo do dzudzɔ ʋeʋĩ le. Egbã legba siwo nɔ dua ƒe mɔmefia, Yosua ƒe agbo nu. Legba la nɔ agbo la ƒe miame.
Togbɔ be nunɔla siawo mewɔ subɔsubɔdɔwo le Yehowa ƒe vɔsamlekpui la dzi le Yerusalem o hã la, woɖua abolo maʋamaʋã kple nunɔla bubuawo.
10 Josiah also desecrated the place named Topheth, in the Hinnom Valley, in order that no one could offer his son or daughter there to be completely burned for a sacrifice to [the god] Molech.
Le esia megbe la, fia la do gu Tofet si nɔ Ben Hinom ƒe Balime, ale be ame aɖeke magate ŋu atsɔ via ŋutsuvi alo via nyɔnuvi awɔ dzovɔsae na Molek o.
11 He also removed the horses that the [previous] kings of Judah had dedicated to worshiping the sun, and he burned the chariots that were used in that worship. Those horses and chariots were kept in the courtyard outside the temple, near the entrance to the temple, and near the room where [one of Josiah’s] officials, whose name was Nathan-Melech, lived.
Eɖe sɔ siwo ŋuti Yuda fiawo kɔ na ɣelegba la ɖa le Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ ƒe mɔnu. Wonɔ xɔxɔnu si te ɖe dumegã aɖe si woyɔna be Natan Melek ƒe xɔnu. Ale Yosia tɔ dzo tasiaɖam siwo ŋuti wokɔ na ɣelegba la hã.
12 Josiah also commanded his servants to tear down the altars that the previous kings of Judah had built on the roof of the palace, above the room where King Ahaz had stayed. They also tore down the altars that had been built by King Manasseh in the two courtyards outside the temple. He commanded that they be smashed to pieces and thrown down into the Kidron Valley.
Fia la mu vɔsamlekpui siwo Yuda fiawo tu ɖe gbadzaƒe si le Ahaz ƒe xɔ la tame le fiasã la me kple vɔsamlekpui siwo Fia Manase tu ɖe gbedoxɔ la ƒe xɔxɔnuwo. Egbã wo kakɛkakɛ eye wòkaka kakɛawo ɖe Kidron bali la me.
13 He also commanded that the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of Olive Tree Hill, be desecrated. Solomon had built them for the worship of the disgusting idols—the [statue of the goddess] Astarte [worshiped by the people in] Sidon [city], Chemosh the god of the Moab people-group, and Molech the god of the Ammon people-group.
Le esia megbe la, eɖe nuxeƒe siwo nɔ toawo dzi le Yerusalem ƒe ɣedzeƒe kple Gbegblẽto la ƒe dziehe la ɖa. Fia Solomo tu nuxeƒe siawo na Astarɔt, Sidontɔwo ƒe nyɔnumawu vɔ̃ɖi la, na Kemos, Moabtɔwo ƒe mawu vɔ̃ɖi la kple na Milkom, Amonitɔwo ƒe mawu nyɔŋu la.
14 They also broke into pieces the stone pillars that the Israeli people worshiped, and cut down the [pillars that honored the goddess] Asherah, and they scattered the ground there with human bones [to desecrate it].
Yosia gbã legbawo eye wòho aƒeliwo. Ekaka ameƒuwo ɖe teƒe siawo hedo gu teƒeawo.
15 Furthermore, he commanded them to tear down the place of worship at Bethel which had been built by King Jeroboam, the king who persuaded the people of Israel to sin. They tore down the altar. Then they broke its stones into pieces and pounded them to become powder. They also burned the statue [of the goddess] Asherah.
Egbã vɔsamlekpui kple nuxeƒe si Yeroboam Gbãtɔ tu ɖe Betel esime wòhe Israel de nu vɔ̃ me. Egbã kpeawo wozu ʋuʋudedi eye wòtɔ dzo aƒeliwo.
16 Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill. He commanded his men to take the bones out of those tombs and burn them on the altar. By doing that, he desecrated the altar. That was what a prophet had predicted many years before when Jeroboam was standing close to that altar at a festival. Then Josiah looked up and saw the tomb of the prophet who had predicted that.
Esi Fia Yosia nɔ ŋku tsam gbe ɖeka la, ekpɔ yɔdo aɖewo ɖaa le to la ŋu. Eɖe gbe na eƒe amewo be woaɖe ƒuawo le yɔdoawo me eye woatɔ dzo wo le vɔsamlekpui si le Betel la dzi, ado gui ale be, nya si Yehowa ƒe nyagblɔɖila gblɔ da ɖi be adzɔ ɖe Yeroboam ƒe vɔsamlekpui dzi la nava eme.
17 Josiah asked, “Whose tomb is that?” The people of Bethel replied, “It is the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah and predicted that these things that you have just now done to this altar would happen.”
Fia la bia be, “Yɔdokpe kae nye ema le afi ma?” Dua me tɔwo ɖo eŋu nɛ be, “Nyagblɔɖila si tso Yuda va gblɔ nu si nèwɔ fifia da ɖi be adzɔ ɖe vɔsamlekpui sia dzi le Betel la ƒe yɔdoe!”
18 Josiah replied, “Allow his tomb to remain as it is. Do not remove the prophet’s bones from the tomb.” So the people did not remove those bones, or the bones of the other prophet, the one who had come from Samaria.
Ale Fia Yosia gblɔ be, “Migaka asi eŋu o. Migaɖe fu na nyagblɔɖila la ƒe ƒuwo o.” Ale wometɔ dzo eƒe ƒuwo kple nyagblɔɖila si tso Samaria la ƒe ƒuwo o.
19 In every city in Israel, at Josiah’s command, they tore down the shrines that had been built by the previous kings of Israel, which had caused Yahweh to become very angry. He did to all those shrines/altars the same thing that he had done to the altars at Bethel.
Yosia gbã nuxeƒe siwo nɔ toawo dzi le Samarianyigba blibo la dzi. Israel fia vovovowoe tu wo eye wodo dɔmedzoe na Yehowa. Ke azɔ la, Yosia gbã wo wozu ʋuʋudedi abe ale si wòwɔ le Betel ene.
20 He ordered that all the priests who offered sacrifices on the altars on the tops of hills must be killed on those altars. Then he burned human bones on every one of those altars [to desecrate them]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Ewu trɔ̃subɔlawo ƒe nunɔlawo ɖe woawo ŋutɔ ƒe vɔsamlekpuiwo dzi eye wòtɔ dzo ameƒuawo ɖe vɔsamlekpuiawo dzi hedo gu wo. Azɔ la etrɔ va Yerusalem.
21 Then the king commanded all the people to celebrate the Passover Festival to honor Yahweh their God, which was written in the law of Moses that they should do [every year].
Fia Yosia gblɔ na eƒe amewo azɔ be woaɖu Ŋutitotoŋkekenyui la ɖe se siwo Yehowa, woƒe Mawu la na woŋlɔ ɖe Nubabla ƒe Agbalẽ la me la nu.
22 During all the years that leaders ruled Israel and during all the years that kings had ruled Israel and Judah, they had not celebrated that festival.
Womegaɖu Ŋutitotoŋkekenyui la kpɔ nenema tso Israel ƒe ʋɔnudrɔ̃lawo ŋɔli o eye womegaɖui kpɔ nenema le Israel fiawo kple Yuda fiawo ƒe fiaɖuɣiwo katã me o.
23 But now, after Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, to [honor] Yahweh they celebrated the Passover Festival in Jerusalem.
Woɖu Ŋutitotoŋkekenyui sia na Yehowa le Yerusalem le Fia Yosia ƒe fiaɖuɖu ƒe ƒe wuienyilia me.
24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of all the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah who practiced sorcery and those who requested the spirits of dead people [to tell them what they should do]. He also removed from Jerusalem and from the other places in Judah all the household idols and all the other idols and abominable things. He did those things in order to obey what had been written in the scroll that Hilkiah had found in the temple.
Yosia tsi ŋɔliyɔyɔ, adzewɔwɔ kple legbasubɔsubɔ ƒomevi ɖe sia ɖe nu le Yerusalem kple anyigba blibo la dzi. Ewɔ alea elabena edi be yeawɔ se siwo katã woŋlɔ ɖe agbalẽ si Nunɔla Hilkia fɔ le gbedoxɔ la me la dzi pɛpɛpɛ.
25 Josiah was totally devoted to Yahweh. There had never been [in Judah or Israel] a king like him. He obeyed all the laws of Moses. And there has never since then been a king like Josiah.
Fia bubu aɖeke meganɔ anyi si trɔ ɖe Yehowa gbɔ eye wòwɔ Mose ƒe sewo katã dzi o eye fia siwo kplɔ Yosia ɖo hã dometɔ aɖeke mete ɖe ale si Yosia ɖo to Yehowa la ŋu o.
26 But Yahweh had become extremely angry with the people of Judah because of all the things that [King] Manasseh had done to infuriate him, and he continued to be very angry.
Ke Yehowa ƒe dziku sesẽ si wòdo ɖe Yuda ŋu le Manase ƒe nu vɔ̃wo ta la dzi meɖe o
27 He said, “I will do to Judah what I have done to Israel. I will banish the people of Judah, with the result that they will never enter my presence again. And I will reject Jerusalem, the city that I chose [to belong to me], and I will abandon the temple, the place where I said that I [MTY] should be worshiped.”
elabena Yehowa gblɔ be, “Matsrɔ̃ Yuda abe ale si metsrɔ̃ Israel ene eye maɖe asi le Yerusalem, du si metia kple gbedoxɔ si megblɔ be enye tɔnye la ŋu.”
28 [If you want to know more about] [RHQ] all the other things that Josiah did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
Woŋlɔ Fia Yosia ƒe ŋutinya mamlɛa ɖe Yuda fiawo ƒe ŋutinyagbalẽ me.
29 While Josiah was the king of Judah, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah tried to stop the army of Egypt at Megiddo [city], but Josiah was killed in a battle there.
Le ŋkeke mawo me la, Egipte fia Farao Neko ho yi Frat tɔsisi la to be yeakpe ɖe Asiria fia ŋu. Fia Yosia ho yi be yeawɔ aʋa kplii, ke Fia Farao Neko wu Fia Yosia esi wòkpɔe le Megido.
30 His officials placed his corpse in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where it was buried in his own tomb, a tomb where the other previous kings had not been buried. Then the people of Judah poured [olive] oil on [the head of] Josiah’s son Joahaz, to appoint him to be the new king.
Fia Yosia ŋumewo kɔ eƒe kukua ɖe tasiaɖam me tso Megido va Yerusalem eye woɖii ɖe yɔdo si eya ŋutɔ tia da ɖi la me. Dukɔa tia Fia Yosia ƒe vi, Yehoahaz si ami nɛ heɖoe fia ɖe fofoa teƒe.
31 Joahaz was 23 years old when he became the king [of Judah], but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah [city].
Yehoahaz xɔ ƒe blaeve-vɔ-etɔ̃ esi wòzu fia; eɖu fia le Yerusalem ɣleti etɔ̃. Dadaa ŋkɔe nye Hamutal, Yeremia ƒe vinyɔnu. Etso Libna.
32 Joahaz did many things that Yahweh said were evil, just like many of his ancestors had done.
Ewɔ nu vɔ̃ le Yehowa ŋkume abe ale si fofoawo hã wɔ ene.
33 King Neco’s [army came from Egypt and captured him and] tied him up with chains and took him as a prisoner to Riblah [town] in Hamath [district], to prevent him from continuing to rule in Jerusalem. Neco forced the people of Judah to pay to him (7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.) of silver and (75 pounds/34 kg.) of gold.
Egipte fia, Farao Neko lée de gaxɔ me le Ribla le Hamat ale be magaɖu fia le Yerusalem o. Hekpe ɖe esia ŋu la, ebla fe si ƒe home nye klosalo kilo akpe etɔ̃ alafa ene kple sika kilo blaetɔ̃-vɔ-ene la na Yuda.
34 King Neco appointed another son of Josiah, Eliakim, to be the new king, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Joahaz to Egypt, and later Joahaz died there in Egypt.
Egipte fia la tia Eliakim, Fia Yosia ƒe viŋutsu bubu be wòaɖu fia le Yerusalem eye wòtrɔ ŋkɔ nɛ wòzu Yehoyakim. Ekplɔ Fia Yehoahaz yi Egipte, afi si wòku ɖo.
35 King Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people [of Judah]. He collected more from the rich people and less from the poor people. He collected silver and gold from them, in order to pay to the king of Egypt what he commanded them to give.
Fia Yehoyakim ma ga home si Egipte fia bla na dukɔa la na eteviwo, ame sia ame ɖe eƒe ŋutete nu be wòate ŋu akpɔ ga la axe na Egipte fia.
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah [town].
Yehoyakim xɔ ƒe blaeve vɔ atɔ̃ esi wòzu fia; eɖu fia le Yerusalem ƒe wuiɖekɛ. Dadae nye Zebida, Pedaya vinyɔnu. Etso Ruma.
37 He did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his ancestors had done.
Ewɔ nu vɔ̃ le Yehowa ŋkume, abe ale si fofoawo wɔ ene.
