Hosea 12
1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and pursueth the east wind; the whole day he increaseth deceit and corruption; and a covenant do they make with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.
Efraimu hujilisha upepo na kufuata upepo wa mashariki. Yeye daima huzidisha uongo na unyanyasaji. Wanafanya agano na Ashuru na huchukua mafuta ya Misri.
2 But with Judah also hath the Lord [to hold] a controversy; and to punish Jacob according to his ways, according to his doings will he recompense him.
Bwana pia ana mashtaka dhidi ya Yuda na ataadhibu Yakobo kwa yale aliyoyatenda; atamlipa kwa matendo yake.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his strength he strove with an angel.
Katika tumbo Yakobo akamshika ndugu yake kisigino, na katika ubinadamu wake alijitahidi kwa Mungu.
4 Yea, he strove with an angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: in Beth-el he should find him, and there he will speak with us.
Alishindana na malaika akashinda. Alilia na kuomba kwa neema yake. Alikutana na Mungu huko Betheli; huko Mungu aliongea naye.
5 And the Lord God of hosts, the Eternal One is his memorial.
Huyu ndiye Bwana, Mungu wa majeshi; “Yahweh” ndilo jina lake.
6 Therefore do thou return to thy God: keep goodness and justice, and wait on thy God continually.
Basi tembea kwa Mungu wako. Shika uaminifu na uhuru wa agano, na umsubiri Mungu wako daima.
7 But like a merchant, who hath the balances of deceit in his hand, loving to overreach,
Wafanyabiashara wana mizani ya uongo mikononi mwao; wanapenda kudanganya.
8 Did Ephraim say, I am certainly become rich, I have acquired substance unto myself: it is all through my labors; they will find no iniquity in me, that could be sin.
Efraimu akasema, “Kwa hakika mimi ni tajiri sana; Nimepata utajiri kwa nafsi yangu. Katika kazi yangu yote hawataona uovu wowote ndani yangu, chochote ambacho kitakuwa dhambi.”
9 And I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt: I will yet make thee dwell in tents, as in the days of antiquity.
Mimi ndimi Bwana, Mungu wako, tangu ulipotoka nchi ya Misri. Nitakufanya uishi tena katika hema, kama siku za karamu iliyowekwa.
10 And I have spoken through the prophets, and I myself have multiplied visions, and by the means of the prophets have I spoken in similitudes.
Niliwaambia manabii, na nimewapa maono mengi kwa ajili yenu. Kwa mkono wa manabii nilitoa mifano.
11 If in Gil'ad there was misfortune, [it is because] there was naught but idolatry; in Gilgal they sacrificed bullocks [to idols]: their altars also are as stone-heaps on the furrows of the fields.
Ikiwa kuna uovu huko Gileadi, hakika watu hawafai. Gilgali wanachinja ng'ombe; madhabahu zao zitakuwa kama miundo ya jiwe katika miamba ya mashamba.
12 And Jacob fled into the fields of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [the flocks].
Yakobo akakimbia mpaka nchi ya Aramu; Israeli alifanya kazi ili kupata mke; naye akachunga kundi la kondoo ili kupata mke.
13 And by a prophet did the Lord bring Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he guarded.
Bwana akawaleta Israeli kutoka Misri kwa kutumia nabii, naye akawatunza kwa nabii.
14 [Yet] Ephraim provoked [him] to anger most bitterly: therefore will his Lord cast his blood-guiltiness upon him, and his reproach will he recompense unto him.
Efraimu amemkasirisha sana Bwana. Basi Bwana wake ataachia damu yake, naye atamrudishia aibu yake.
