Hosea 8
1 “Weka tarumbeta katika midomo yako! Tai anakuja juu ya nyumba ya Bwana kwa sababu watu wamevunja agano langu na waliasi 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 Wananililia,'Mungu wangu, sisi katika Israeli tunakujua.'
Israel calls out to me, “Our God, we know you!”
3 Lakini Israeli amekataa mema, na adui atamfuata.
But Israel has rejected what is good. An enemy will chase after them.
4 Wameweka wafalme, lakini sio kwa shauri langu. Wamewafanya wakuu, lakini sikuwa na habari. Kwa fedha zao na dhahabu wamejifanyia sanamu wenyewe, ili wakatiliwe mbali.”
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 “Ndama yako imekataliwa, Samaria. Hasira yangu inawaka juu ya watu hawa. Kwa muda gani watakuwa na hatia?
Samaria, I reject this calf idol you have made! My anger burns against them! How long will you be incapable of being good?
6 Kwa maana sanamu hii ilitoka Israeli; fundi aliifanya; si Mungu! Ndama ya Samaria itavunjwa vipande vipande.
This idol is from Israel! A craftsman made it—it's not God! The calf of Samaria will be broken in pieces!
7 Kwa maana watu hupanda upepo na kuvuna kimbunga. Mbegu zilizosimama hazina vichwa; haitoi unga. Ikiwa itakomaa, wageni watakula.
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 imemezwa; sasa wanalala kati ya mataifa kama kitu kisicho na maana.
Israel is swallowed up; among the nations they are like something nobody wants.
9 Kwa maana walikwenda Ashuru kama punda wa mwitu pekee. Efraimu ameajiri wapenzi kwa ajili yake mwenyewe.
They have gone up to Assyria like a donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Hata ingawa wameajiri wapenzi kati ya mataifa, sasa nitawakusanya pamoja. Wao wataanza kupotea kwa sababu ya unyanyasaji wa mfalme wa wakuu.
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 Kwa maana Efraimu imeongeza madhabahu kwa sadaka za dhambi, lakini zimekuwa madhabahu kwa kufanya dhambi.
Though Ephraim built many altars to make sin offerings, they instead became altars of sin!
12 Niliweza kuandika sheria yangu kwao mara elfu kumi, lakini wangeiona kama kitu cha ajabu kwao.
I wrote down for them the many aspects of my law, but they looked on them as foreign.
13 Kwa ajili ya dhabihu za sadaka zangu, hutoa nyama na kuila, lakini mimi, Bwana, siwakubali. Sasa nitafikiri juu ya 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 amenisahau mimi, Muumba wake, na amejenga majumba. Yuda ameimarisha miji mingi, lakini nitatuma moto juu ya miji yake; itaharibu ngome zake.
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.
