Isaiah 5
1 [Now] I will sing a song about my dear friend, and about his vineyard. The vineyard was on a very fertile hillside.
Azɔ mele ha dzi ge na nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ tso eƒe waingble ŋuti. Waingble aɖe le nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ si le togbɛ si nyoa nuku la dzi.
2 My friend plowed the ground and cleared away the stones. Then he planted very good grapevines on that ground. In the middle of the vineyard, he built a watchtower, and he dug a (winepress/pit for squeezing the grapes). Then he waited [each year] to harvest some good grapes, but the vines produced [only] sour grapes.
Edzobo eme heɖe kpewo le eme, eye wòdo wainka nyuitɔwo ɖe eme. Etu gbetakpɔxɔ ɖe agble la titina, eye wòtu wainfiaƒe hã ɖe afi ma. Ele mɔ kpɔm na waintsetse nyuiwo, gake wotse wain vevewo.
3 Now [this is what Yahweh says]: “You people of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, I [am like the friend, and you are like] my vineyard; [so] you judge which of us [has done what is right].
“Azɔ, Yerusalem ŋutsuwo kple Yuda ŋutsuwo, miese ale si nya la katã va yii, eya ta midrɔ̃ ʋɔnu le nye kple nye waingble la dome.
4 What more could I have done for you than what I have already done? I expected you to be doing good deeds [MET], so it is disgusting that [RHQ] you were [doing only evil things] like the vineyard that produced only sour grapes!
Nu ka wòle be mawɔ na nye waingble la esi nyemewɔ nɛ o? Ekema nu ka ta mele mɔ kpɔm na waintsetse nyuiwo, gake wain vevewo ko wòtse?
5 [So], I will now tell you what I will do to [Judah, the place that is like] my vineyard. I will cut down the hedges, and they will be destroyed. I will tear down the walls [of the cities] and allow [wild animals] to trample the land.
Azɔ magblɔ nu si wɔ ge mala nye waingble la na mi. Magbã kpɔ ɖa le eŋuti, eye lãwo aɖui. Magbã gli le eŋu ne amewo nafanyae.
6 I will cause it to become a wasteland where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed. It will be a place where briers and thorns [DOU] grow. And I will command that no rain will fall on it.”
Mawɔe wòazu gbegbe, womake eƒe alɔwo alo aga eme o, eye ŋuwo kple aŋɔkawo amie ɖe afi ma. Made se na lilikpowo be womagadza tsi ɖe edzi azɔ o.”
7 The nation of Israel is [like] [MET] the vineyard of the Commander of the armies of angels. The people of Judah are [like] the garden that was pleasing to him. He expected you to be doing what is just/fair, but instead, [what he saw was people] murdering [MTY] others. [He expected that you would be doing] righteous deeds, but instead, he heard cries from people who were being [attacked] violently.
Israel ƒe aƒee nye Yehowa, Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ la, ƒe waingble, eye Yuda ŋutsuwoe nye eƒe dzidzɔ ƒe wainka siwo wòdo. Ekpɔ mɔ na afia nyui tsotso, ke ʋukɔkɔɖi wòkpɔ; ekpɔ mɔ na nu dzɔdzɔe wɔwɔ, ke konyifavi koe ɖi.
8 Terrible things will happen to you who continually [illegally] acquire houses and fields. You force one family after another to leave their homes until you are the only ones [HYP] [still] living in the land.
Baba na mi ame siwo le xɔ tsiam ɖe xɔ nu, eye wole agble tsiam ɖe agble nu be teƒe aɖeke megasusɔ o, be woawo ɖeɖe naxɔ anyigba la dzi!
9 [But] I heard the Commander of the armies of angels solemnly declare this: “[Some day], many of those huge houses will be empty/deserted; no one will be living in those beautiful mansions.
Ale Yehowa, Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ la, ka atam mese kple nye towo, “Ne xɔ gãwo mezu gbegbe, eye dziƒoxɔ gãwo mezu aƒedowo o fĩi!
10 The vines on ten acres of land will not produce enough grapes to make (six gallons/22 liters) [of juice/wine], and ten baskets of seed will produce only one basket [of grain].”
Woakpɔ wain adzafi ɖeka kple afã pɛ ko le waingble agbleka ewo sɔŋ me, eye ne woƒã bli agba ɖeka la, bli kotoku ɖeka pɛ ko woakpɔ le eme.”
11 Terrible things will happen to those who get up early [each] morning to begin drinking alcoholic drinks, and who stay awake until late at night [drinking a lot of wine] until they are completely drunk.
Baba na mi, ame siwo fɔna fɔŋli henɔa ho ʋlim le aha muame nono me, eye mienɔa wain yome va se ɖe zãtiƒe, eye wòmua mi tsiɖitsiɖi.
12 They have [big parties and provide lots of] wine. At their parties, there are [people playing] harps and lyres and tambourines and flutes, but they never think about what Yahweh does or appreciate what he has created.
Kasaŋkuwo kple saŋkuwo ɖina le miaƒe kplɔ̃ɖoƒewo, axatsɛwo, kpẽwo kple wain bɔna ɖe eŋu, gake wometsɔ ɖeke le eme na Yehowa ƒe dɔwɔwɔwo alo ade bubu eƒe asinudɔwɔwɔwo ŋu o.
13 So, my people will be (exiled/taken to other countries) [far away] because they do not know [about me]. Those who are [now very important and] honored will starve, and the other people will die from thirst.
Eya ta nye amewo ayi ɖe aboyome le nugɔmemasemase ta; dɔwuame awu woƒe ame ŋkutawo, eye tsikɔ awu ame haho la.
14 [It is as though] [PRS] the place where the dead people are is eagerly looking for more Israeli people, opening its mouth to swallow them, and a huge number of people will be thrown into that place, including their leaders as well as a noisy crowd of people who enjoy living in Jerusalem. (Sheol h7585)
Eya ta nuɖuɖu le yɔdo dzrom vevie, eye wòke eƒe nu ɖi baa, eya ta Yerusalem ƒe ame ŋkutawo kple ame hahoawo age dze eme kple woƒe dzidzɔkpɔkpɔwo kple aglotutuwo katã. (Sheol h7585)
15 [Yahweh] will get rid of a huge number of people; and he will humble [many more] people who [now] are proud/arrogant.
Ale woaɖiɖi ame ɖe anyi, woabɔbɔ amegbetɔƒomea ɖe anyi, eye woate dadalawo ƒe ŋku ɖe to.
16 But the Commander of the armies of angels will be exalted/praised because of his acting justly. God will show that he is holy by doing righteous/just deeds.
Ke woado Yehowa, Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ la ɖe dzi le eƒe ʋɔnudɔdrɔ̃ me, eye Mawu Kɔkɔe la aɖe eƒe kɔkɔenyenye afia to eƒe dzɔdzɔenyenye me.
17 Then lambs and fat sheep will [be able to] find good grass to eat, [even] among the ruins [of the houses of rich people].
Ekema alẽwo aɖu gbe abe woawo ŋutɔ ƒe lãnyiƒee wole ene; eye alẽviwo aɖu nu le kesinɔtɔwo ƒe aƒedowo me.
18 Some people constantly tell lies, and [it is as though] they are dragging behind them the wrong things that they have done. Terrible things will happen to them!
Baba na ame siwo tsɔ beble ƒe kawo de dzidada le hehem, eye wode kekehekawo nu vɔ̃ hele hehem,
19 They [make fun of God and] say [to him, ] “Go ahead, do something [to punish us]! We want to see what you will do. You, the Holy One of Israel, should do what you are planning to do, because we want to know what it is.”
ame siwo gblɔna be “Mawu newɔ kaba. Nedo tsɔtsɔe eƒe dɔ be miakpɔe; Israel ƒe Kɔkɔetɔ la ƒe aɖaŋudede neva kaba ne mianyae.”
20 Terrible things will happen to those who say that evil is good, and that good is evil, that darkness is light and that light is darkness, that what is bitter is sweet and what is sweet is bitter.
Baba na ame siwo yɔ vɔ̃ be nyui, eye woyɔ nyui be vɔ̃, ame siwo tsɔ viviti ɖɔli kekeli, eye wotsɔ kekeli ɖɔli viviti. Ame siwo yɔa veve be vivi, eye woyɔa vivi be veve.
21 Terrible things will happen to those who think that they are wise and that they (are very clever/know everything).
Baba na ame siwo bua wo ɖokuiwo nunyalawoe, eye wonye aɖaŋudelawo le woawo ŋutɔ ɖokuiwo gbɔ.
22 Terrible things will happen to those who [think that] [IRO] they are great/heroes because they are able to drink [lots of] wine, and boast about being able to mix good alcoholic drinks.
Baba na ame siwo nye kalẽawo le wain gã nono me, eye wonye dziɖulawo le ahamuamewo tɔtɔ me,
23 If people offer them bribes in order that they will enable wicked people not to be punished, they accept those bribes, and they cause people who are innocent to be punished.
ame siwo xɔa zãnu, eye wotsoa afia ŋkunɔ na agɔdzelawo; ke ame siwo ƒe nya dzɔ la, wodea wo nya me.
24 Therefore, just like [SIM] fires burn up stubble and dry grass shrivels up and quickly burns in flames, [it will be as though] those people have roots that will rot and have flowers that will wither. [That will happen] because they rejected the laws of the Commander of the armies of angels; they have despised the messages of the Holy One of Israel.
Eya ta abe ale si dzo ƒe aɖe fiaa bee, eye gbe ƒuƒu bina le dzo me ene la, nenema kee woƒe kewo anyunyɔ, eye ya aƒo woƒe seƒoƒowo adzoe abe ʋuʋudedi ene, elabena wogbe Yehowa, Dziƒoʋakɔwo ƒe Aƒetɔ la ƒe nufiame, eye woɖe alɔme le Israel ƒe Kɔkɔetɔ la ƒe nyawo ŋu,
25 That is why Yahweh is [extremely] angry [with his people]; [it is as though] his hand is raised [and he is ready to smash them]. [When he does that], the mountains will shake, and the corpses of people will be scattered in the streets like [SIM] manure. But even when that happens, Yahweh will still be very angry; he will be ready to punish his people [MET] again.
Eya ta Yehowa ƒe dziku bi ɖe eƒe amewo ŋu. Ekɔ eƒe alɔ dzi, eye wòƒo wo ƒu anyi. Towo ʋuʋu kpekpekpe, eye ŋutilã kukuwo le abe gbeɖuɖɔ le aɖukpo dzi ene. To esiawo katã gbɔ hã la, eƒe dziku nu mefa o, eƒe alɔ gale dzi ko.
26 Yahweh will send a signal to summon [armies of] nations far away; [it is as though] he will whistle [to summon those soldiers who are] in very remote places on the earth. They will come very swiftly [DOU] [to Jerusalem].
Ekɔ aflaga dzi na didiƒe dukɔwo, eye wòlia aku na ame siwo le anyigba ƒe mlɔenuwo ke. Kpɔ ɖa, wova kaba kple du!
27 They will not get tired or stumble. They will not [stop to] rest or to sleep. None of their belts will be loose, and none of them will have sandals with broken straps, [so they will all be ready to fight in battles].
Ɖeɖi mete wo dometɔ aɖeke ŋu alo nu nati kɔ nɛ o. Ɖeka pɛ hã medɔ akɔlɔ̃e alo dɔ alɔ̃ o. Alidziblanu metu le ɖeke ƒe ali o, eye tokota metso le ɖeke ƒe afɔ o.
28 Their arrows will be sharp, and their bows will be ready [to shoot those arrows in a battle]. [Because their horses pull the chariots fast], sparks will shoot out from their hooves, and the wheels of the chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
Woƒe datiwo le ɖaɖam, eye woku woƒe dawo me. Woƒe sɔwo ƒe afɔwo le abe dzosigbewo ene, eye woƒe tasiaɖamwo ƒe afɔwo le abe yali ene.
29 They will roar like [very strong] lions [DOU] that growl and [then] pounce on the animals they want to kill and carry them off, and no one is able to rescue them.
Woƒe gbeɖeɖe le abe dzata tɔ ene, eye woɖea gbe abe dzataviwo ene. Wotea gbe heléa nu, eye wotsɔa nu si wolé la dzonae, ame aɖeke mate ŋu axɔe le wo si o.
30 [Similarly, your enemies] will roar when they see the people they are about to kill, like [SIM] the sea roars. [On that day], if someone looks across the land, he will see [only people who are in] darkness and distressed; [it will be as though] even the sunlight is hidden by dark clouds.
Gbe ma gbe la, woaɖe gbe ɖe edzi abe atsiaƒu ene. Ne ame aɖe nye kɔ kpɔ anyigba la, viviti kple hiã ko wòakpɔ, eye lilikpowo gɔ̃ hã ana kekeli nado viviti.
