< Hosea 12 >

1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and pursueth after the east wind: all day long he multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.
厄弗辣因愛好颶風,整日追逐東風,說許多謊話,行許多暴行,既與亞述結盟,又給埃及送油。
2 Jehovah hath also a controversy with Judah, and he will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
上主要與以色列爭辯,要按他們的行徑懲罰雅各伯,依照他的行為報復他:
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he wrestled with God.
他在母胎中就欺騙了他的弟兄,及至壯年又曾與天神搏鬥;
4 Yea, he wrestled with the Angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us,
他與天神博鬥,並且獲得了勝利;他哭了,曾懇求他開恩;在貝特耳再遇見了他,在那裏天主對他說:──
5 — even Jehovah, the God of hosts, — Jehovah is his memorial.
上主,萬軍的天主,雅威是他的名號x──
6 And thou, return unto thy God: keep loving-kindness and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
「至於你,你應當歸向你的天主,遵守仁愛和正義,時刻仰望你的天主。」
7 [He is] a merchant, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loveth to oppress.
厄弗辣因有如客納罕人,手裏拿著欺詐的天秤,喜行欺騙。
8 And Ephraim saith, Nevertheless I am become rich, I have found me out substance; in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
厄弗辣因說:「我現在實在成了富翁,發了大財。」然而他所獲得的一切,為補贖他所犯的罪孽,仍嫌不夠。
9 But I [that am] Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt will again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.
自從在埃及地時,我就是上主,你的天主:我必再使你住在帳幕中,如在盛會的節日一樣。
10 And I have spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by means of the prophets have I used similitudes.
是我向先知們說了話,是我增多了異象,我也必藉先知們消滅他們。
11 If Gilead is iniquity, surely they are but vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
在基肋阿得只有罪惡,的確,他們只是虛無;在基耳加耳 他們向牛犢獻了祭,因此他們的祭壇必將成為田畦中的石堆。
12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [sheep].
雅各伯曾逃到阿蘭平原,以色列曾為娶妻而服役,曾為娶妻而放羊。
13 And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
上主曾藉一位先知領以色列出離埃及,也藉一位先知保護了他們。
14 Ephraim provoked [him] to anger most bitterly; and his Lord shall leave his blood upon him, and recompense unto him his reproach.
但厄弗辣因大大激怒了上主,他的血債必要歸到他身上,他的主必要在他身上報復自己受的凌辱。

< Hosea 12 >