< 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.
To thy mouth, with a horn! Like an eagle, on the house of Yahweh, —because they have violated my covenant, and, against my law, have they transgressed.
2 Wananililia,'Mungu wangu, sisi katika Israeli tunakujua.'
Unto me, shall they make outcry, My God! we acknowledge thee—[we], Israel!
3 Lakini Israeli amekataa mema, na adui atamfuata.
Israel hath cast away what is good, —an enemy, shall pursue him.
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, have appointed kings, but not from me, have made rulers, but I have not acknowledged them: of their silver and their gold, they made themselves idols, to the end they might be cut off.
5 “Ndama yako imekataliwa, Samaria. Hasira yangu inawaka juu ya watu hawa. Kwa muda gani watakuwa na hatia?
He hath cast away thy calf, O Samaria, kindled is mine anger upon them, —How long shall they not endure to be innocent?
6 Kwa maana sanamu hii ilitoka Israeli; fundi aliifanya; si Mungu! Ndama ya Samaria itavunjwa vipande vipande.
For, of Israel, is even that thing! A craftsman, made it, and, a No-god, it is! For, into fragments, shall the Calf of Samaria be broken.
7 Kwa maana watu hupanda upepo na kuvuna kimbunga. Mbegu zilizosimama hazina vichwa; haitoi unga. Ikiwa itakomaa, wageni watakula.
For, to the wind, they sow, and, to the whirlwind, they reap: stalk, hath it none, That which shooteth forth, shall yield no meal, If so be it yield, foreigners, swallow it lip,
8 Israeli imemezwa; sasa wanalala kati ya mataifa kama kitu kisicho na maana.
Swallowed up, is Israel; Now, have they gone among the nations, like a vessel in which no man taketh, delight.
9 Kwa maana walikwenda Ashuru kama punda wa mwitu pekee. Efraimu ameajiri wapenzi kwa ajili yake mwenyewe.
For, they, have gone up to Assyria, A wild ass going alone for himself, is Ephraim! They have 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 hire them among the nations, at once, will I gather them, when they have begun to be diminished by reason of the burden of the king of rulers.
11 Kwa maana Efraimu imeongeza madhabahu kwa sadaka za dhambi, lakini zimekuwa madhabahu kwa kufanya dhambi.
Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars sinfully, they have become to him the altars of sin.
12 Niliweza kuandika sheria yangu kwao mara elfu kumi, lakini wangeiona kama kitu cha ajabu kwao.
I have been wont to write for him the myriad things of my law, —Like something alien, have they been accounted.
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.
My sacrificial gifts, have they been sacrificing as [common] flesh, and have eaten, Yahweh, hath not accepted them, —Now, will he call to mind their iniquity, that he may punish their sin, they, to Egypt, will return.
14 Israeli amenisahau mimi, Muumba wake, na amejenga majumba. Yuda ameimarisha miji mingi, lakini nitatuma moto juu ya miji yake; itaharibu ngome zake.
And so Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and hath built temples, and, Judah, hath multiplied fortified cities, —Therefore will I send a fire upon his cities, and it shall consume the palaces thereof.