Hosea 8
1 “Monhyɛn torobɛnto! Ɔkɔre bi wɔ Awurade fifo so efisɛ nnipa no abu mʼapam so na wɔasɔre atia me mmara.
[Yahweh said to me], “Blow [MTY] your trumpet [to warn the people]! My people have rejected the agreement that I made with them, and they have rebelled against [obeying] my laws. Therefore, [their enemies] are swooping down on my people’s country like [SIM] an eagle.
2 Afei Israel su frɛ me se, ‘Yɛn Nyankopɔn, yegye wo to mu!’
My Israeli people cry out to me, ‘Our God, we know that you are our God!’
3 Nanso Israel apo nea eye; ɔtamfo bɛtaa no.
But because the Israeli people have rejected what is good, their enemies will pursue them.
4 Wosisi ahemfo a minnim ho hwee, wɔpaw ahenemma wɔ bere a mempenee so ɛ. Wɔde wɔn dwetɛ ne wɔn sikakɔkɔɔ yɛ ahoni ma wɔn ho de sɛe wɔn ankasa ho.
The Israel people appointed [their last three] kings, but they did not ask me if I agreed to [what they were doing]. They chose their own leaders without asking if I would approve of them. They used their own silver and gold to make for themselves idols, and doing that led them to be destroyed.
5 Tow wo nantwi ba ohoni no kyene, Samaria! Mʼabufuwhyew reba wɔn so. Wɔbɛtena nea ɛho ntew mu akosi da bɛn?
You people of Samaria, throw away your [idol that resembles a] calf! I am extremely angry with you people! How long [RHQ] will you [do things that cause] you to be unacceptable to me?
6 Wofi Israel! Saa nantwi ba yi, odwumfo bi na osenii; ɛnyɛ Onyankopɔn! Wobebubu mu asinasin, saa Samaria nantwi ba no.
[Someone in] Israel made that idol for you; [but I am] God and it is not. So that idol of a calf in Samaria must be smashed to pieces.
7 “Wodua mframa na wotwa mfɛtɛ. Awi a egyina hɔ no nni ti; nti wɔrennya siam mfi mu. Sɛ ɛsow aduan mpo a, ahɔho na wobedi.
[The foolish thing that the people of Israel have done is like] [MET] trying to plant wind; but what they harvest will be like [MET] a whirlwind. So the grain that they planted will have no heads [on the stalks], and as a result [there will be no grain] from which to make flour. And if it did produce good grain, foreigners would [come and] steal it.
8 Wɔamene Israel; afei ɔfra aman no mu te sɛ ade a so nni mfaso biara.
[The people of] Israel will be defeated [MET] [by their enemies]; they will be [scattered] among other nations and become worthless.
9 Na wɔakɔ Asiria te sɛ wuram afurum a ɔno nko ara nenam. Efraim nso atɔn ne ho ama adɔfo.
Like [MET] donkeys that are looking for mates, they have requested [help] from Assyria; they paid money to [the leaders of Assyria] in order to [persuade those leaders to] protect them.
10 Ɛwɔ mu, wɔatɔn wɔn ho wɔ amanaman no mu de, nanso mɛboaboa wɔn ano. Wɔn so befi ase atew wɔ ɔhene kɛse bi nhyɛso ase.
But although they have agreed to pay money each year to [the leaders of] those countries, I will soon gather them together [to punish them]. The great King [of Assyria] will cause them to suffer greatly.
11 “Ɛwɔ mu sɛ Efraim sisii afɔremuka bebree a wɔbɔ bɔnefakyɛ afɔre wɔ so de, ɛno nti abɛyɛ afɔremuka a wɔyɛ bɔne wɔ so.
Although [the people of] Israel built many altars to present offerings [to their idols] to take away [their guilt for] sinning, those altars have become places where they commit [more] sins.
12 Mekyerɛw me mmara a ɛfa nneɛma bebree ho maa wɔn, nanso wɔfaa no sɛ ananafo ade.
I wrote many laws for them, but they disregarded them, saying that [they did not have to obey them because] they were different from laws that they had known previously.
13 Wɔde mʼayɛyɛde bɔ afɔre na wɔwe nam no, nanso wɔnsɔ Awurade ani. Afei ɔbɛkae wɔn atirimɔdensɛm na wɔatwe wɔn aso wɔ wɔn bɔne ho: Wɔbɛsan akɔ Misraim.
They offer sacrifices to me, and they eat [some of] the meat of those sacrifices, [which is what I permitted them to do]. But I, Yahweh, am not pleased with those sacrifices. I remember the evil things that they have done, and I will punish them for the sins that they have committed: I will force them to [go to other countries] [and become slaves like they were] [MET] in Egypt.
14 Israel werɛ afi ne yɛfo na wasisi ahemfi akɛseakɛse; Yuda abɔ nkurow bebree ho ban. Nanso mɛto ne nkuropɔn mu gya a ɛbɛhyew wɔn aban.”
[The people of] Israel have abandoned/forgotten me, the one who created their [nation]; they have built palaces, and [the people of] Judah have built walls around many towns. But I will send a fire that will destroy all their cities and their fortresses.”
