Hosea 8
1 “Wekeni tarumbeta midomoni mwenu! Tai yuko juu ya nyumba ya Bwana kwa sababu watu wamevunja Agano langu, wameasi dhidi ya sheria yangu.
Put a trumpet to your lips! An eagle swoops over the house of the Lord because they have broken my agreement and rebelled against my law.
2 Israeli ananililia, ‘Ee Mungu wetu, tunakukubali!’
Israel calls out to me, “Our God, we know you!”
3 Lakini Israeli amekataa lile lililo jema, adui atamfuatia.
But Israel has rejected what is good. An enemy will chase after them.
4 Wanaweka wafalme bila idhini yangu, wamechagua wakuu bila kibali changu. Kwa fedha zao na dhahabu wamejitengenezea sanamu kwa ajili ya maangamizi yao wenyewe.
They appointed kings without my consent and chose princes without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
5 Ee Samaria, tupilieni mbali sanamu yenu ya ndama! Hasira yangu inawaka dhidi yao. Watakuwa najisi mpaka lini?
Samaria, I reject this calf idol you have made! My anger burns against them! How long will you be incapable of being good?
6 Zimetoka katika Israeli! Ndama huyu: ametengenezwa na fundi, si Mungu. Atavunjwa vipande vipande, yule ndama wa Samaria.
This idol is from Israel! A craftsman made it—it's not God! The calf of Samaria will be broken in pieces!
7 “Wanapanda upepo na kuvuna upepo wa kisulisuli. Bua halina suke, halitatoa unga. Kama lingetoa nafaka, wageni wangeila yote.
Those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head of grain; it will produce no flour. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would swallow it all up.
8 Israeli amemezwa; sasa yupo miongoni mwa mataifa kama kitu kisicho na thamani.
Israel is swallowed up; among the nations they are like something nobody wants.
9 Kwa kuwa wamepanda kwenda Ashuru kama punda-mwitu anayetangatanga peke yake. Efraimu amejiuza mwenyewe kwa wapenzi.
They have gone up to Assyria like a donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Ingawa wamejiuza wenyewe miongoni mwa mataifa, sasa nitawakusanya pamoja. Wataanza kudhoofika chini ya uonevu wa mfalme mwenye nguvu.
Even though they have hired allies among the nations, I will gather them together. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king.
11 “Ingawa Efraimu alijenga madhabahu nyingi kwa ajili ya sadaka za dhambi, hizi zimekuwa madhabahu za kufanyia dhambi.
Though Ephraim built many altars to make sin offerings, they instead became altars of sin!
12 Nimeandika kwa ajili yao mambo mengi kuhusu sheria yangu, lakini wameziangalia kama kitu cha kigeni.
I wrote down for them the many aspects of my law, but they looked on them as foreign.
13 Wanatoa dhabihu nilizopewa mimi nao wanakula hiyo nyama, lakini Bwana hapendezwi nao. Sasa ataukumbuka uovu wao na kuadhibu dhambi zao: Watarudi Misri.
They present me with their sacrifices, and they eat the meat, but I the Lord do not accept them. Now he will remember their wickedness, and punish them for their sins. They will return to Egypt.
14 Israeli amemsahau Muumba wake na kujenga majumba ya kifalme, Yuda amejengea miji mingi ngome. Lakini nitatuma moto kwenye miji yao utakaoteketeza ngome zao.”
Israel has forgotten his maker, and built palaces; Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will rain fire down on their cities and burn up their fortresses.
