< Hosea 12 >

1 Efraim de mframa ayɛ aduane; ɔdi apueeɛ mframa akyi daa na ɔdi atorɔ yɛ akakabensɛm bebree. Ɔne Asiria yɛ apam na ɔde ngo kɔ Misraim.
Ephraim, feedeth on wind, and pursueth the east wind, all the day, falsehood and force, doth he magnify, —and, a covenant with Assyria, would they solemnize, and, oil into Egypt, must be borne along.
2 Awurade wɔ soboɔ de bɔ Yuda; ɔbɛtwe Yakob aso, wɔ nʼakwan ho na watua no ne nneyɛeɛ so ka.
But, a controversy, hath Yahweh with Judah, —so that he may bring punishment on Jacob, according to his ways, According to his doings, repay him.
3 Ɔyafunu mu na ɔsɔɔ ne nua nantin; ɔnyiniiɛ no, ɔne Onyankopɔn pepree so.
In the womb, took he his brother by the heel; and, in his manly vigour, strove he with God:
4 Ɔne ɔbɔfoɔ tentameeɛ dii ne so nkonim; ɔde nisuo srɛɛ ne nkyɛn adom. Ɔhunuu no wɔ Bet-El ne no kasaa wɔ hɔ.
Yea he strove against a Messenger, and prevailed, he wept, and made supplication unto him, —At Bethel, he found him, and, there, he spake with us;
5 Asafo Awurade Onyankopɔn, Awurade ne ne din a ahyeta!
And, Yahweh, is God of host, —Yahweh, is his memorial.
6 Ɛsɛ sɛ wo sane kɔ wo Onyankopɔn nkyɛn. Tena ɔdɔ ne tenenee mu, na twɛn wo Onyankopɔn daa.
Thou, therefore, by thy God, shalt return, —lovingkindness and justice, do thou keep, so wait thou for thy God, continually.
7 Ɔdwadini de nsisie nsania yɛ nʼadwuma; nʼani gye nsisie ho.
A trafficker! in his hand, are balances of deceit, to oppress, he loveth.
8 Efraim hoahoa ne ho sɛ, “Meyɛ ɔdefoɔ; manya me ho. Mʼahonya nyinaa mu wɔrenhunu amumuyɛ biara wɔ me ho.”
So then Ephraim said, Surely I have gotten me riches, I have found wealth for myself, —in all my toils, they cannot find in me perversity which is sin.
9 “Mene Awurade wo Onyankopɔn, a meyii wo firii Misraim. Mɛma woakɔtena ntomadan mu bio sɛdeɛ na woyɛ wɔ wʼapontoɔ afahyɛ nna mu no.
But, I, Yahweh, have been thy God, from the land of Egypt, —I will yet make thee dwell in tents, as in the days of appointed meeting.
10 Mekasa kyerɛɛ adiyifoɔ, memaa wɔn anisoadehunu bebree na mefaa wɔn so kaa mmɛbusɛm.”
And I will lay my word upon the prophets, yea, I myself, have magnified, vision, —and, by the hand of the prophets, will I use similitudes.
11 Gilead yɛ otirimuɔdenfoɔ anaa? Emu nnipa no yɛ ahuhufoɔ! Wɔde anantwie bɔ afɔdeɛ wɔ Gilgal anaa? Wɔn afɔrebukyia bɛyɛ te sɛ aboɔ a wɔahɔre no sie wɔ asase a wɔafuntum soɔ.
If, Gilead, is in sorrow, surely false, have they been, In Gilgal, have they sacrificed, bullocks, —their very altars, shall become as heaps upon the furrows of the field.
12 Yakob dwane kɔɔ Aramfoɔ asase so; Israel someeɛ de nyaa yere, ɔhwɛɛ nnwan de tua etiri nsa.
When Jacob fled to the country of Syria, then Israel served for a wife, and, for a wife, he watched over a flock.
13 Awurade nam odiyifoɔ so yii Israel firii Misraim, ɔnam odiyifoɔ so hwɛɛ no.
And, by a prophet, Yahweh, brought up, Israel out of Egypt, —and, by a prophet, was he watched over.
14 Nanso, Efraim ahyɛ no abufuo yaayaaya; nʼAwurade bɛma ne mogyahwiegu ho afɔdie ada ne so na ɔbɛtua nʼanimtiabuo no so ka.
Ephraim hath provoked, very bitterly, —his own blood, therefore, upon him, will he leave, and, his reproach, shall his Lord, bring back to him.

< Hosea 12 >