Hosea 12
1 Efraimu hujilisha upepo na kufuata upepo wa mashariki. Yeye daima huzidisha uongo na unyanyasaji. Wanafanya agano na Ashuru na huchukua mafuta ya Misri.
Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; Every day he multiplieth falsehood and violence; They make a league with Assyria, And oil is carried into Egypt.
2 Bwana pia ana mashtaka dhidi ya Yuda na ataadhibu Yakobo kwa yale aliyoyatenda; atamlipa kwa matendo yake.
Therefore Jehovah hath a controversy with Judah. And he will punish Jacob for his ways, And requite him according to his doings.
3 Katika tumbo Yakobo akamshika ndugu yake kisigino, na katika ubinadamu wake alijitahidi kwa Mungu.
In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his strength he contended with God;
4 Alishindana na malaika akashinda. Alilia na kuomba kwa neema yake. Alikutana na Mungu huko Betheli; huko Mungu aliongea naye.
Yea, he contended with the angel, and prevailed; He wept, and made supplication to him. At Bethel he found him, And there he spake with us.
5 Huyu ndiye Bwana, Mungu wa majeshi; “Yahweh” ndilo jina lake.
And Jehovah, the God of hosts, Jehovah is his name.
6 Basi tembea kwa Mungu wako. Shika uaminifu na uhuru wa agano, na umsubiri Mungu wako daima.
Therefore turn thou to thy God; Observe mercy and justice, And hope in thy God always!
7 Wafanyabiashara wana mizani ya uongo mikononi mwao; wanapenda kudanganya.
He is a Canaanite; in his hands are the balances of deceit; He loveth to oppress.
8 Efraimu akasema, “Kwa hakika mimi ni tajiri sana; Nimepata utajiri kwa nafsi yangu. Katika kazi yangu yote hawataona uovu wowote ndani yangu, chochote ambacho kitakuwa dhambi.”
Yet Ephraim saith, Lo, I have become rich; I have found myself substance; In all my earnings can be found no transgression in which there is guilt.
9 Mimi ndimi Bwana, Mungu wako, tangu ulipotoka nchi ya Misri. Nitakufanya uishi tena katika hema, kama siku za karamu iliyowekwa.
Yet I, Jehovah, have been thy God from the land of Egypt; I will again cause thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.
10 Niliwaambia manabii, na nimewapa maono mengi kwa ajili yenu. Kwa mkono wa manabii nilitoa mifano.
I have also spoken to the prophets, And I have given many visions, And by the prophets I have used similitudes.
11 Ikiwa kuna uovu huko Gileadi, hakika watu hawafai. Gilgali wanachinja ng'ombe; madhabahu zao zitakuwa kama miundo ya jiwe katika miamba ya mashamba.
Behold, Gilead is full of iniquity; Surely they have become corrupt; In Gilgal they sacrifice oxen, And their altars are like the heaps in the furrows of the field.
12 Yakobo akakimbia mpaka nchi ya Aramu; Israeli alifanya kazi ili kupata mke; naye akachunga kundi la kondoo ili kupata mke.
Jacob fled into the country of Syria, And Israel served for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 Bwana akawaleta Israeli kutoka Misri kwa kutumia nabii, naye akawatunza kwa nabii.
By a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet was he preserved.
14 Efraimu amemkasirisha sana Bwana. Basi Bwana wake ataachia damu yake, naye atamrudishia aibu yake.
Ephraim hath provoked his Lord most bitterly; Therefore will he leave his blood upon him, And recompense to him his reproach.
