Hohea 12
1 Ko ta Eparaima kai ko te hau, e whaia ana e ia te hau marangai: i nga ra katoa e whakanuia ana e ia te teka me te whakangaro; e whakarite kawenata ana ratou ki te Ahiriana, a e kawea ana he hinu ki Ihipa.
[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].
2 Na he whakawa ta Ihowa ki a Hura, ka utaina ano e ia ki runga ki a Hakopa nga mea rite ki ona ara; ka rite ki ana mahi tana utu ki a ia.
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.
3 I roto i te kopu i hopukia e ia tona tuakana ki te rekereke; a i a ia ka tangata i kaha ia ki te Atua;
[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.
4 Ae ra, i kaha ia ki te anahera, a taea ana e ia: i tangi ia, i inoi ki a ia: i tutaki ia ki a ia ki Peteere, a korero ana ia ki a tatou i reira;
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.
5 Ara a Ihowa, te Atua o nga mano; ko Ihowa tona maharatanga.
[That was] the Commander of the armies of angels whose name is Yahweh [who talked with him]!
6 Na reira tahuri koe ki tou Atua: puritia te mahi tohu me te tika, tatari tonu ki tou Atua.
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.
7 He kaihokohoko ia, kei tona ringa nga pauna tinihanga: e aroha ana ia ki te tukino.
The merchants [among you] use scales that do not weigh correctly; they love/like to cheat people.
8 I mea ano a Eparaima, He pono kua whai taonga ahau, kua kitea e ahau he rawa moku: i aku mahi katoa e kore e kitea e ratou he kino, ara he hara ki ahau.
[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.”
9 Na ko Ihowa ahau, ko tou Atua, no te whenua o Ihipa mai ra ano; tenei ake ka meinga ano koe e ahau kia noho teneti; kia pera me to nga ra o te hakari nui.
“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].
10 Kua korero ano ahau ki nga poropiti, a kua whakamahangia e ahau nga whakakitenga; na te mahi minita a nga poropiti i korero ai ahau i nga kupu whakarite.
[Many times] I spoke to the prophets, and I gave them many visions, and I gave them parables to tell [to the people].”
11 Ko te hara ranei a Kireara? ina, he mea teka kau ratou; e patu kau ana ratou ki Kirikara hei whakahere: ae ra, he rite a ratou aata ki nga puranga i nga moa o nga mara.
[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.
12 I rere ano a Hakopa ki te mara a Arame, a mahi ana a Iharaira hei utu wahine; hei utu wahine i tiaki hipi ai ia.
[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.
13 I kawea mai ano e Ihowa, ara e te poropiti, a Iharaira i Ihipa, na te poropiti ano ia i ora ai.
[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.
14 I whakapataritari a Eparaima ki a ia, kawa rawa: mo reira ka waiho e ia tona toto i runga i a ia, ka meinga ano tona ingoa kino e tona ariki kia hoki atu ki a ia.
[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.
