Hosea 12
1 [The leaders of] Israel are constantly wavering [about seeking help from other countries]. [Seeking their help is as useless as] [MET] chasing the wind. They pile up their lies and violent acts. [First, ] they make a treaty with Assyria, and [then they] send olive oil to [the rulers of] Egypt [to seek their help].
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 Yahweh [says that he] will bring accusations against [the leaders of] Judah, and that he will punish [the descendants of] Jacob for what they have done.
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 [When Jacob was] in his mother’s womb, he grabbed his brother [Esau’s] heel [because he wanted to be born first]. When Jacob grew up, 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 He struggled with [the one who had appeared to him in the form of] an angel, and Jacob defeated him, but [then] he cried and asked the angel to bless him. [Later], God came to Jacob at Bethel and talked with him there.
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 [That was] the Commander of the armies of angels whose name is Yahweh [who talked with him]!
上主，萬軍的天主，雅威是他的名號x──
6 But you [people of Israel] must return to your God! You must faithfully love [him], and you must do what is fair/just and always depend on him.
「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 The merchants [among you] use scales that do not weigh correctly; they love/like to cheat people.
厄弗辣因有如客納罕人，手裏拿著欺詐的天秤，喜行欺騙。
8 [The people of] Israel boast, saying “We are [very] rich [DOU]; and we got all that money by our own efforts, and without committing any 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 “I am Yahweh your God, [the one who brought your ancestors] out of Egypt. [And some day] I will force you to live in tents again [like your ancestors did] when [they celebrated] the Festival [of Living in Temporary Shelters].
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 [Many times] I spoke to the prophets, and I gave them many visions, and I gave them parables to tell [to the people].”
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 [The people of] Gilead [city] are [RHQ] extremely wicked; they are worthless. The people sacrifice bulls in Gilgal [city], but their altars will [soon] become like [SIM] piles of stone [at the edge of] a plowed field.
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 [Your ancestor] Jacob fled [from his brother Esau] and went to northwest Mesopotamia. He worked [for his uncle Laban for many years] to get a wife; he took care of [his uncle’s] sheep [to pay] for her.
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 [Many years later, ] Yahweh enabled a prophet to bring the [ancestors of you] people of Israel here from Egypt; that prophet, [Moses], took care of them.
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 [But now the people of] Israel have caused [Yahweh] to become very angry; Yahweh says that they deserve to die because they caused [many others] to die [MTY]; he will pay them back for the sins that they have committed against him and for insulting him.
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。
