< Hosea 2 >

1 “Trɔ ŋkɔ na nɔviwò ŋutsua be Ami, si gɔmee nye ‘Azɔ ènye tɔnye,’ eye nàyɔ nɔviwò nyɔnu la be Ruhama si gɔmee nye ‘Nublanuikpɔkpɔ.’
So call your brothers, My People, and your sisters, Compassion.
2 “Mika mo na mia dada, elabena etrɔ zu ŋutsu bubu srɔ̃, eye nyemeganye srɔ̃a o. Mika mo nɛ be wòadzudzɔ ahasiwɔwɔ, eye megatsɔ eɖokui na ŋutsu bubuwo azɔ o.
Accuse, accuse your mother: for she is not my wife, and I will not be her husband. Let her put her acts of infidelity out of her sight, and her lovers from between her breasts,
3 Ne egbe gale edzi la, maɖe avɔ le eŋuti wòanɔ amama abe gbe si gbe wodzii ene, eye mana wòasɔ kple gbegbe, anɔ abe kuɖiɖinyigba ene, eye mana tsikɔ nawui wòaku.
else I will strip her bare, expose her as she was on the day of her birth, make her like the wilderness, let her become like a parched land, and let her die of thirst.
4 Nyemakpɔ nublanui na viawo o, elabena wonye ahasiviwo.
And on her children I will have no pity, since they are children of adultery,
5 Wo dada wɔ ahasi kple ŋutsu bubuwo, eye wodzi wo ɖe ŋukpe me hegblɔ be, ‘Mati ŋutsu bubuwo yome aku ɖe wo ŋuti, be woana nuɖuɖu, tsi, avɔ, ami kple aham.’
for their mother has become a prostitute, she who conceived them has behaved shamefully. She has said, ‘I will go after my lovers who gave me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my oil, and my drink.’
6 Ke nye la, matɔ kpɔ aƒo xlãe kple ŋutiwo; maxe mɔ nɛ, ale be magakpɔ mɔ o,
That is why I am going to hedge up her ways with thorns, and build a wall about her, so that she cannot find her paths.
7 eye ne eti eƒe lɔlɔ̃tɔwo yome la matu wo o. Adi wo kple ŋkubiã gake makpɔ wo o. Ekema agblɔ na eɖokui be, ‘Anyo ne metrɔ yi ɖe srɔ̃nye gbɔ, elabena esi menɔ egbɔ la, nuwo dze edzi nam wu fifia.’
She will pursue her lovers, but will not overtake them. She will seek them, but not find them. In time she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, I was better off then than now.’
8 Menyae be nyee naa bli, aha yeye, ami, sika kple klosalo si wòtsɔ le eƒe mawu, Baal subɔmii la ye o.
She herself did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the sweet wine, and the oil, who lavished on her silver and gold – that they used in worshipping Baal!
9 “Ke azɔ la, maxɔ wain kple bli siwo menanɛ la le esi, eye maxɔ avɔ siwo katã metso nɛ be wòata la le esi.
So I will take back my grain at the harvest, and my sweet wine in its season. I will withdraw my wool and my flax, given to cover her nakedness;
10 Azɔ maɖe amamae le dutoƒo be eƒe lɔlɔ̃tɔwo nakpɔ, eye ame aɖeke mate ŋu axɔe le asinye o.
and so I will strip her naked before her lovers, and no one shall deliver her out of my hand.
11 Matɔ te eƒe azãɖuɖuwo katã; eƒe ƒe sia ƒe ƒe ŋkekenyuiwo, dzinu yeyewo, Dzudzɔgbewo kple azãɖugbewo katã.
I will end all her celebrations, her yearly feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths, all her festivals.
12 Magblẽ eƒe waingblewo kple gbotiwo, agble siwo wògblɔ be yeƒe lɔlɔ̃tɔwoe na ye. Mana agblewo nato gbe azu ave, eye gbemelãwo ava ɖu kutsetseawo katã.
I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she says, ‘These are my wages which my lovers have given me.’ I will make them a thicket, and the wild animals will eat them.
13 Mahe to nɛ ɖe ɣeyiɣi siwo wòdo dzudzɔ ʋeʋĩ na Baalwo, eƒe legba Baal, eye wòde eƒe togɛ kple kɔsɔkɔsɔwo, hedze eƒe lɔlɔ̃tɔwo yome, hegblẽm ɖi. Yehowae gblɔe.
In this way I will punish her for the days of the Baals, in which she made offerings to them, and decked herself with earrings and jewels, and went after her lovers, but forgot me, – declares the Lord.
14 “Eya ta mable enu akplɔe ayi ɖe gbedzi, afi ma maƒo nu nɛ kple lɔlɔ̃gbe bɔkɔɔ le.
So I am going to court her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
15 Afi ma magbugbɔ eƒe waingble la nɛ, eye matrɔ eƒe Nuxaxa ƒe Balime la wòazu Mɔkpɔkpɔ ƒe Agbo. Adzi ha kple dzidzɔ abe ale si wònɔ nɛ le eƒe ɖetugbime esi wòdo go tso Egipte ene.”
I will give her from there her vineyards, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the days when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 Yehowa be, “Gbe ma gbe la ayɔm be, ‘Srɔ̃nye,’ ke menye ‘Nye Aƒetɔ’ o.
At that time, declares the Lord, you will call me your husband, and will no more call me your master.
17 Maɖe Baalwo ƒe ŋkɔwo ɖa le ŋuwò, eye màgaƒo ŋkɔ ɖo na wo azɔ o.
I will remove the name of the Baals from her mouth, their names never again uttered.
18 Le ɣe ma ɣi me la, mabla nu le wò kple lã wɔadãwo, xeviwo, kple lã siwo tana la dome, maŋe dati kple yi, maɖe aʋawɔwɔ ɖa le anyigba dzi, eye ame sia ame anɔ anyi le ŋutifafa me.
On that day I will make for them a covenant with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the earth. I will break the bow and the sword, banish battle from the land, and I will make them lie down in safety.
19 Mabla wò ɖe ɖokuinye ŋu tegbee; matsɔ dzɔdzɔenyenye, nuteƒewɔwɔ, lɔlɔ̃ kple nublanuikpɔkpɔ abla wò ɖe ɖokuinye ŋu.
I will take you for my wife forever, I will take you for my wife in righteousness, in justice, in kindness, and in mercy.
20 Mabla wò le anukwareɖiɖi me ɖe ɖokuinye ŋu, eye àva nya Yehowa wu tsã.”
I will take you for my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.
21 Yehowa be: “Le ŋkeke ma dzi la, maɖo to dziƒowo ƒe gbe, dziƒowo hã aɖo to anyigba ƒe gbe,
On that day I will answer – declares the Lord, I will answer the empty skies, and they will answer the dry earth.
22 anyigba hã aɖo to bli, aha yeye kple ami, eye woawo hã woaɖo to Yezreel ƒe gbe.
The earth will answer with grain, and new wine and oil, and they will answer Jezreel,
23 Maɖo nye dukɔ Israel te na ɖokuinye le anyigba dzi, eye maɖe nye lɔlɔ̃ afia ame si meyɔ be ‘Menye nye lɔlɔ̃tɔe o.’ Magblɔ na ame siwo woyɔna be, ‘Mienye nye dukɔ o’ la be ‘Mienye nye dukɔ’; eye woawo hã agblɔ be, ‘Wòe nye mía Mawu.’”
and I will plant her in the land. I will have compassion to No-Compassion, I will say to Not-My-People, ‘You are my people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’

< Hosea 2 >