Judges 8

Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously.

Atemmu nni hɔ ma wɔn a wɔyɛ Kristo Yesu de.

But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?

Na honhom mu mmara a ɛma me nkwa na ɛma me ne Kristo yɛ baako no agye me afi bɔne ne owu mmara mu.

God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.

Nea esiane ɔhonam mmerɛw nti mmara no antumi anyɛ no, Onyankopɔn yɛe. Ɔnam n’ankasa ne Ba a ɔsomaa no wɔ onipa bɔne su so no ba bebuu bɔne atɛn de popaa bɔne.

Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.

Onyankopɔn yɛɛ eyi sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a wɔn a wɔte ase Honhom mu na ɛnyɛ ɔhonam mu no benya mmara no mu nnepa.

He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

Wɔn a wɔte ase ma bɔne no, bɔne na edi wɔn so. Wɔn nso a wɔte ase ma Honhom no, Honhom na edi wɔn so.

But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”

Wɔn a ɔhonam di wɔn so no ewie wɔn owu. Wɔn nso a Honhom di wɔn so no, ewie wɔn nkwa ne asomdwoe.

Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”

Sɛ ɔhonam di onipa so a, ɛma no dan Onyankopɔn tamfo, efisɛ, onni Onyankopɔn mmara so; na ɔrentumi nni so nso da.

From there he went up to Peniel^[a] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had.

Wɔn a wɔn nipasu di wɔn so no rennya Onyankopɔn anim anuonyam.

Abɔde foforo

So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”

Monte ase mma ɔhonam; na mmom mote ase ma Honhom no; nanso sɛ Onyankopɔn Honhom te mo mu a, ɛnne na moyɛ Honhom no de. Obiara a Kristo Honhom nte ne mu no nyɛ Kristo de.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.

Ɛwom sɛ bɔne ama mo nipadua yi awu de, nanso sɛ Kristo te mo mu a, trenee nti, mo honhom te ase.

Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army.

Sɛ Onyankopɔn Honhom a enyanee Yesu fii owu mu no te mo mu a, ɛnne nea onyanee Kristo fii owu mu no nso nam ne Honhom a ɛwɔ mo mu no so bɛma mo nipadua a ewu yi nso nkwa.

Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

Enti anuanom, yɛwɔ asɛde bi nanso ɛnsɛ sɛ yɛma nipadua no di yɛn so.

Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.

Sɛ motena ase ma mo nipadua no a, mobewu. Nanso sɛ moma Honhom no kum bɔne a nipadua no yɛ a, mobɛtena ase.

He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth, the elders of the town.

Wɔn a Onyankopɔn Honhom di wɔn so no yɛ Onyankopɔn mma.

Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’”

Efisɛ, Honhom a Onyankopɔn de ama mo no mma monyɛ nkoa na ɛmma munsuro nso. Na mmom Honhom no ma moyɛ Onyankopɔn mma na yɛnam Honhom no tumi no so su frɛ Onyankopɔn se, “Agya! M’agya!”

He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.

Onyankopɔn Honhom ka yɛne ne Honhom no bom de da no adi sɛ yɛyɛ Onyankopɔn mma.

He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

Esiane sɛ yɛyɛ Onyankopɔn mma nti, yebenya ne nhyira a ɔde hyira ne nkurɔfo no bi. Saa ara nso na yebenya nhyira a Onyankopɔn de asie ama Kristo no bi; efisɛ, sɛ yɛne Kristo hu amane a, yebenya n’anuonyam no nso bi.

Daakye anuonyam

Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”

“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”

Minim sɛ anuonyam a yebenya daakye no bɛso asen amane a yɛrehu saa bere yi mu no.

Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.”

Abɔde nyinaa de anigyina rehwɛ da a Onyankopɔn mma bɛda wɔn ho adi no kwan.

Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

Na wɔnam Onyankopɔn tumi mu buu abɔde fɔ sɛ ɛnnan ade hunu a emfi abɔde no tumi mu, nanso na saa anidaso yi wɔ hɔ,

Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.

Gideon’s Ephod

sɛ da bi abɔde no bɛde ne ho afi nkoayɛ ne porɔwee mu na ɛne Onyankopɔn mma anya ahofadi mu anuonyam.

The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

Yenim sɛ ebesi saa bere yi abɔde nyinaa pene sɛ ɔpemfo a awo aka no.

But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”

Nanso ɛnyɛ abɔde nko, na yɛn a yɛwɔ Onyankopɔn Honhom sɛ Onyankopɔn akyɛde no nso si apini bere a yɛretwɛn sɛ Onyankopɔn de yɛn bɛyɛ ne mma na wama yɛade yɛn ho no.

And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

Na wɔnam saa anidaso yi so na agye yɛn nkwa. Sɛ yehu nea yɛn ani da so no de a, na ɛnyɛ anidaso pa. Na hena na n’ani tumi da ade a ohu so.

They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it.

Na sɛ yɛn ani da ade a yenhu so a, yɛde boasetɔ twɛn.

The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,^[b] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks.

Saa ara na Honhom no boa yɛn wɔ yɛn mmerɛwyɛ mu, efisɛ, yennim ɔkwan a wɔfa so bɔ mpae sɛnea ɛsɛ. Honhom no ankasa de apinisi de nsɛm a enni kabea di ma yɛn.

Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon’s Death

Onyankopɔn a ohu nnipa koma mu no nim Honhom no nsusuwii, efisɛ, Honhom no nam Onyankopɔn pɛ so di ma Onyankopɔn mma wɔn n’anim.

Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years.

Yenim sɛ wɔ a wɔdɔ Onyankopɔn na ɔnam n’adom no so afrɛ wɔn no, ade nyinaa di boa wɔn ma ewie wɔn yiye.

Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live.

Wɔn a Onyankopɔn ayi wɔn dedaw no, ɔde wɔn asi hɔ sɛ wɔnyɛ sɛ ne Ba no, na ne Ba no ayɛ anuanom pii mu abakan.

He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.

Onyankopɔn frɛɛ wɔn a oyii wɔn sii hɔ no, na wɔn a ɔyii wɔn no, obuu wɔn bem. Na wɔn a obuu wɔn bem no, ɔhyɛɛ wɔn anuonyam nso.

Onyankopɔn wɔ yɛn afa

His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.

Afei dɛn na yɛbɛka afa eyinom ho? Onyankopɔn wɔ yɛn afa a, hena na ɔne yɛn bedi asi?

Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Nea wankame n’ankasa ne Ba na mmom yɛn nyinaa nti, oyii no mae no, ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na ɔmfa ade nyinaa nso nka ne ho mmɛdom yɛn?

No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god

Hena na obebu wɔn a Onyankopɔn ayi wɔn no atɛn? Onyankopɔn nko na obu bem.

and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

Hena na obu fɔ? Kristo Yesu ne nea owui na wonyanee no na ɔte Onyankopɔn nifa so di ma yɛn Onyankopɔn anim no.

They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.

Hena na obetumi atetew ɔdɔ a ɛda yɛne Kristo ntam no mu? Ahohia anaa ahometew anaa ɔtaa anaa ɔkɔm anaa adagyaw anaa amanenya anaa owu na ebetumi atetew ɔdɔ a ɛda yɛne Kristo ntam no mu no anaa?

Dabida! Sɛnea wɔakyerɛw se, “Wo nti, wokum yɛn daa nyinaa; wobu yɛn sɛ nguanten a wɔrebekum wɔn”.

Nanso eyinom nyinaa mu no,yɛnam nea ɔdɔɔ yɛn no so di nkonim boro so.

Migye midi ampa sɛ owu anaa nkwa anaa abɔfo anaa atumfo anaa nneɛma a ɛwɔ hɔ anaa nneɛma a ɛrebɛba anaa tumi

anaa ɔsoro anaa ɛfam anaa abɔde foforo biara rentumi ntetew yɛne Onyankopɔn dɔ a ɛwɔ Kristo Yesu, yɛn Awurade, mu no mu da.