Hosea 8
1 “Mitsɔ kpẽ la ɖo nu! Egbɔna abe hɔ̃ ene ɖe Yehowa ƒe aƒe la ŋu, elabena wotu nye nubabla la hetsitre ɖe nye seawo ŋu.
[Yahweh said to me], “Blow [MTY] your trumpet [to warn the people]! My people have rejected the agreement that I made with them, and they have rebelled against [obeying] my laws. Therefore, [their enemies] are swooping down on my people’s country like [SIM] an eagle.
2 Azɔ la, Israel le ɣli dom nam be, ‘Míaƒe Mawu, kpe ɖe mía ŋuti!’
My Israeli people cry out to me, ‘Our God, we know that you are our God!’
3 Gake Israel gbe nu le nu si nyo la gbɔ; azɔ la, eƒe futɔwo ati eyome.
But because the Israeli people have rejected what is good, their enemies will pursue them.
4 Woɖo fiawo, gake womebia gbem hafi o, eye wotia dumegã siwo dzi nyemeda asi ɖo o. Wotsɔ woƒe klosalo kple sika wɔ legbawoe na wo ɖokui hena woawo ŋutɔ ƒe tsɔtsrɔ̃.
The Israel people appointed [their last three] kings, but they did not ask me if I agreed to [what they were doing]. They chose their own leaders without asking if I would approve of them. They used their own silver and gold to make for themselves idols, and doing that led them to be destroyed.
5 O Samaria, tsɔ wò nyivilegba si nèwɔ la ƒu gbe. Nye dɔmedzoe le bibim ɖe wo ŋu. Gbe ka gbe miana mia ŋuti nakɔ?
You people of Samaria, throw away your [idol that resembles a] calf! I am extremely angry with you people! How long [RHQ] will you [do things that cause] you to be unacceptable to me?
6 Nu siawo dzɔ tso Israel, nyivilegba si gbede tu la, menye Mawu o, eya ta woagbã Samaria ƒe nyivi la gudugudu.
[Someone in] Israel made that idol for you; [but I am] God and it is not. So that idol of a calf in Samaria must be smashed to pieces.
7 “Woƒã ya, eya ta woaŋe ahomya. Woƒe bliwo magbã ahadza o, eya ta ahɔ̃litiwo matse ku o, eye ne bli anɔ blitikpui aɖewo ŋu hã la, amedzrowo ahae aɖu.
[The foolish thing that the people of Israel have done is like] [MET] trying to plant wind; but what they harvest will be like [MET] a whirlwind. So the grain that they planted will have no heads [on the stalks], and as a result [there will be no grain] from which to make flour. And if it did produce good grain, foreigners would [come and] steal it.
8 Israel gbã gudugudu, ɖeko wòle dukɔwo dome abe nu maɖinu ene,
[The people of] Israel will be defeated [MET] [by their enemies]; they will be [scattered] among other nations and become worthless.
9 elabena wodzo yi Asiria hele tsatsam abe gbetedziwo ene. Efraim tsɔ eɖokui dzra na ahiãviwo.
Like [MET] donkeys that are looking for mates, they have requested [help] from Assyria; they paid money to [the leaders of Assyria] in order to [persuade those leaders to] protect them.
10 Togbɔ be wodzra wo ɖokuiwo na dukɔwo hã la, magaƒo wo nu ƒu azɔ. Woakpe fu le fiagã la kple dumegãwo ƒe teteɖeanyi ta.
But although they have agreed to pay money each year to [the leaders of] those countries, I will soon gather them together [to punish them]. The great King [of Assyria] will cause them to suffer greatly.
11 “Efraim tu vɔsamlekpui geɖewo, hena nu vɔ̃ vɔsa, gake menye nyee wòtu wo na o. Wotu wo hena nu vɔ̃ wɔwɔ.
Although [the people of] Israel built many altars to present offerings [to their idols] to take away [their guilt for] sinning, those altars have become places where they commit [more] sins.
12 Ne mede se akpe ewo nɛ hã la, ɖeko wòagblɔ be menye yee wode seawo na o, ke boŋ ame bubuwoe wode wo na.
I wrote many laws for them, but they disregarded them, saying that [they did not have to obey them because] they were different from laws that they had known previously.
13 Wowua nye vɔsalãwo hena lã la ɖuɖu, gake woƒe nu menyoa Yehowa ŋu o. Azɔ aɖo ŋku woƒe vɔ̃ɖivɔ̃ɖi dzi, eye wòahe to na wo ɖe woƒe nu vɔ̃ ta, ale woagatrɔ ayi Egipte.
They offer sacrifices to me, and they eat [some of] the meat of those sacrifices, [which is what I permitted them to do]. But I, Yahweh, am not pleased with those sacrifices. I remember the evil things that they have done, and I will punish them for the sins that they have committed: I will force them to [go to other countries] [and become slaves like they were] [MET] in Egypt.
14 Israel ŋlɔ eƒe wɔla be, eye wòtu fiasã gã dranyiwo. Yuda ɖo gli sesẽwo ƒo xlã eƒe duwo. Maɖo dzo ɖa wòafia woƒe duwo, eye wòabi woƒe mɔ sesẽwo.”
[The people of] Israel have abandoned/forgotten me, the one who created their [nation]; they have built palaces, and [the people of] Judah have built walls around many towns. But I will send a fire that will destroy all their cities and their fortresses.”
