< Isaiah 17 >

1 [I received] this message [from Yahweh] about Damascus [the capital of Syria]: “Listen carefully! Damascus will no longer be a city; it will be [only] a heap of ruins!
Esiae nye nyagblɔɖi ɖe Damasko ŋu: “Kpɔ ɖa, Damasko maganye du abe tsã ene o, ke boŋ atrɔ azu aƒedo!
2 The towns near Aroer [city] will be abandoned. Flocks [of sheep] will [eat grass in the streets and] lie down there, and there will be no one to chase them away.
Woagblẽ Aroa ƒe duwo ɖi woatsi ƒuƒlu, eye wòazu nɔƒe na alẽha siwo atsyɔ akɔ anyi ɖe afi ma, eye ame aɖeke mado ŋɔdzi na wo o.
3 The cities in Israel will not have walls around them [to protect them]. The power of the kingdom of Damascus will be ended, and the few people who will remain in Damascus will be disgraced like the people in Israel were disgraced.” [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says.
Efraim ƒe mɔ sesẽwo nu ayi kple Damasko ƒe fiaɖuƒe hã, eye Aram ƒe ame mamlɛawo ƒe ŋusẽ anɔ abe Israeltɔ ene.” Yehowa, Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ lae gblɔe.
4 “At that time, Israel will become insignificant. It will be [like] [MET] a fat person who has become very thin.
“Eva eme le ɣe ma ɣi be, Yakob ƒe ŋusẽ aɖiɖi, eye eƒe lãmemi avɔ keŋ.
5 The entire land will be like [SIM] a field where the harvesters have cut all the grain; there will be nothing left, like [SIM] the fields in the Rephaim Valley after all the crops have been harvested.
Azu abe bligble si me woŋe bli le hegblẽ hɔ̃litiawo ɖe tsitrenu ene, eye abe ale si agbledela fɔa bli dzɔdzɔe le Refaim me ene.
6 Only a few of the Israeli people will remain [MET], like [SIM] the few olives that remain on the top of a tree after the workers have caused all the other olives to fall [to the ground]. [There will be only] two or three olives in the top branches, [or] four or five olives on the other branches.” [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says.
Kutsetse ʋɛ aɖewo asusɔ abe ale si ne wogbe amiti vɔ, eye kutsetse eve alo etɔ̃ aɖewo susɔna ɖe eƒe adzame ene. Wo ame ene alo atɔ̃ nɔa atiawo ƒe alɔwo dzi la ene.” Yehowa Israel ƒe Mawu lae gblɔe.
7 [Then], at that time, [you] people [of Israel] will (turn for help to/look up to) God, your creator, the Holy One of Israel.
Ɣe ma ɣi la, amegbetɔ atrɔ ɖe eƒe Wɔla ŋu, eye eƒe ŋkuwo anɔ Israel ƒe Kɔkɔetɔ la dzi.
8 You will no [longer] seek to get help from your idols or worship the idols that you have made with your own hands [DOU]. You will never again bow down in front of the poles [where you worship the goddess] Asherah. You will never again worship at the shrines [that you have built for burning incense].
Womagatrɔ ɖe woƒe vɔsamlekpui siwo woawo ŋutɔ wowɔ kple woƒe asiwo la ŋu o, eye womagabu aƒeli kple ɣelégba siwo woawo ŋutɔ wowɔ kple woƒe asiwo la o.
9 The largest cities in Israel will be abandoned, like the land that the Hiv and Amor people-groups abandoned (OR, like the forests that the [Canaan people-group] abandoned) when the Israelis [attacked them long ago]. No one will live there.
Le ŋkeke ma dzi la, woƒe du sesẽ siwo wogblẽ ɖi na Israelviwo hesi dzo la anɔ abe gbegbe ene, eye woazu aƒedo.
10 [That will happen] because you have stopped worshiping God who is [like] [MET] a huge rock under which you can be safe. You have forgotten that he is the one who can hide/protect you. So, [now] you plant very nice grapevines and [even] plant very expensive ones that come from other countries.
Elabena èŋlɔ Mawu, wò xɔnametɔ la be, eye mèɖo ŋku agakpe si nye wò mɔ sesẽ la dzi o. Eya ta togbɔ be nèƒã nuku nyuiwo, eye nèdo du bubu me tɔwo ƒe wainkawo;
11 [But] even if they sprout leaves on the day that you plant them, and even if they produce blossoms on that same morning, at harvest time, there will not be any grapes for you to pick. All that you will get is a lot of agony/misery.
togbɔ be gbe si gbe nèdoe la, ètɔ kpɔ ɖe eŋu, eye esi ŋu ke la, èna wò nukuawo ƒo se hã la, le nuŋegbe la, màŋe naneke wu fukpekpe kple vevesese o.
12 Listen! [The armies of] many nations will roar like the sea roars. It will sound like the noise of crashing waves.
O! Dukɔ geɖewo ƒe agbodzedze. Wodze agbo abe tɔ dzeagbo ene! O! Woƒe amewo ƒe hoowɔwɔ. Wole hoo wɔm abe tɔ dzeagbowo ƒe hoowɔwɔ ene.
13 But even though their loud roaring will be like the sound of crashing waves, when Yahweh rebukes them, they will run far away. They will flee like [SIM] chaff on the hills scatters when the wind [blows], like tumbleweeds scatter when a windstorm blows.
Togbɔ be ameawo le hoo wɔm abe tsi sesẽwo ƒe hoowɔwɔ ene hã la, ne èblu ɖe wo ta la, wosina yia megbe ke. Èɖe wo ɖe ŋu abe gbe ƒuƒuwo le towo dzi kple yali le ahom nu ene.
14 And, even though you people of Israel will be terrified, in the morning [your enemies] will all be gone/dead. That is what will happen to those who invade our land and [then] steal our possessions.
Ŋɔdzi nɔa anyi le fiẽ me, gake wobuna ne ŋu ke. Esia nye ame siwo daa adzo mí la ƒe gome kple mía halawo ƒe dzidzenu.

< Isaiah 17 >