UHoseya 12
1 UEfrayimi udla umoya, axotshane lomoya wempumalanga; usuku lonke wandisa amanga lencithakalo; benza isivumelwano leAsiriya, lamafutha athwalelwa eGibhithe.
Ephraim, feedeth on wind, and pursueth the east wind, all the day, falsehood and force, doth he magnify, —and, a covenant with Assyria, would they solemnize, and, oil into Egypt, must be borne along.
2 INkosi layo ilengxabano loJuda, izahambela uJakobe ngokwendlela zakhe, imphindisele ngokwezenzo zakhe.
But, a controversy, hath Yahweh with Judah, —so that he may bring punishment on Jacob, according to his ways, According to his doings, repay him.
3 Esiswini wabamba umfowabo ngesithende, langamandla akhe wabindana loNkulunkulu.
In the womb, took he his brother by the heel; and, in his manly vigour, strove he with God:
4 Yebo, waba lamandla phezu kwengilosi, wanqoba, wakhala inyembezi wayincenga; eBhetheli wamthola, lalapho wakhuluma lathi.
Yea he strove against a Messenger, and prevailed, he wept, and made supplication unto him, —At Bethel, he found him, and, there, he spake with us;
5 Ngitsho iNkosi, uNkulunkulu wamabandla, iNkosi iyisikhumbuzo sayo.
And, Yahweh, is God of host, —Yahweh, is his memorial.
6 Ngakho wena, phendukela kuNkulunkulu wakho, gcina umusa lokulunga, ulindele uNkulunkulu wakho njalonjalo.
Thou, therefore, by thy God, shalt return, —lovingkindness and justice, do thou keep, so wait thou for thy God, continually.
7 Ungumthengisi, izilinganiso ezikhohlisayo zisesandleni sakhe, uthanda ukucindezela.
A trafficker! in his hand, are balances of deceit, to oppress, he loveth.
8 LoEfrayimi uthi: Kanti nginothile, sengizitholele inotho; kuyo yonke imitshikatshika yami kabayikuthola ububi kimi, obuyisono.
So then Ephraim said, Surely I have gotten me riches, I have found wealth for myself, —in all my toils, they cannot find in me perversity which is sin.
9 Kodwa ngiyiNkosi, uNkulunkulu wakho, kusukela elizweni leGibhithe; ngisezakuhlalisa emathenteni njengensukwini zomkhosi omisiweyo.
But, I, Yahweh, have been thy God, from the land of Egypt, —I will yet make thee dwell in tents, as in the days of appointed meeting.
10 Ngizakhuluma futhi labaprofethi, mina ngandise umbono, ngisebenzise imifanekiso ngesandla sabaprofethi.
And I will lay my word upon the prophets, yea, I myself, have magnified, vision, —and, by the hand of the prophets, will I use similitudes.
11 Bukhona yini ububi eGileyadi? Isibili bayize, bahlaba izinkunzi eGiligali; yebo, amalathi abo anjengenqumbi emiseleni yamasimu.
If, Gilead, is in sorrow, surely false, have they been, In Gilgal, have they sacrificed, bullocks, —their very altars, shall become as heaps upon the furrows of the field.
12 Kanti uJakobe wabalekela elizweni leSiriya, loIsrayeli wasebenzela umfazi, welusa izimvu ngenxa yomfazi.
When Jacob fled to the country of Syria, then Israel served for a wife, and, for a wife, he watched over a flock.
13 Langomprofethi iNkosi yamenyusa uIsrayeli eGibhithe, langomprofethi walondolozwa.
And, by a prophet, Yahweh, brought up, Israel out of Egypt, —and, by a prophet, was he watched over.
14 UEfrayimi uyicunule ngobuhlungu obukhulu; ngakho izayekela igazi lakhe phezu kwakhe, leNkosi yakhe ilibuyisele kuye ihlazo lakhe.
Ephraim hath provoked, very bitterly, —his own blood, therefore, upon him, will he leave, and, his reproach, shall his Lord, bring back to him.
