< Hosea 2 >

1 “Frɛ wo nuammarimanom ‘Me nkurɔfoɔ’ na frɛ wo nuammaanom ‘Mʼadɔfoɔ.’”
Say to your brothers, 'My people!' and to your sisters, 'You have been shown compassion.'”
2 “Ka wo maame anim, ka nʼanim, na ɔnnyɛ me yere na mennyɛ ne kunu. Ma ɔnsesa nʼanim a ayɛ adwaman anim no na ɔnnyae awaresɛeɛ a ɔde ne nufu yɛ no.
Bring a lawsuit against your mother, bring a lawsuit, for she is not my wife, and neither am I her husband. Let her put away her prostitution from before herself, and her acts of adultery from between her breasts.
3 Anyɛ saa a mɛpa ne ho ntoma na wada adagya te sɛ ɛda a wɔwoo no; mɛma wayɛ sɛ anweatam, mɛdane no asase a awo wesee na mama osukɔm akum no.
If not, I will strip her naked and show her nakedness as on the day that she was born. I will make her like the wilderness, like a parched land, and I will make her die from thirst.
4 Merennɔ ne mma, ɛfiri sɛ wɔyɛ adwaman mma.
I will not have any mercy on her children, for they are children of prostitution.
5 Wɔn maame anyɛ ɔnokwafoɔ na ɔnyinsɛnee wɔn wɔ animguaseɛ mu. Ɔkaa sɛ, ‘Mɛdi mʼadɔfoɔ akyi, wɔn a wɔma me aduane ne nsuo, ne kuntu ne nwera, ngo ne nsã.’
For their mother has been a prostitute, and she who conceived them has acted shamefully. She said, “I will go after my lovers, for they give me my bread and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”
6 Yei enti, mede nkasɛɛ bɛsi no ɛkwan; mɛto ɔfasuo afa no ho, sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a ɔnhunu ɛkwan.
Therefore I will build up a hedge to block her way with thorns. I will build up a wall against her so she cannot find her way.
7 Ɔbɛti nʼadɔfoɔ nanso ɔrento wɔn; ɔbɛhwehwɛ wɔn, nanso ɔrenhunu wɔn. Afei, ɔbɛka sɛ, ‘Mɛsane akɔ me kunu nkyɛn, te sɛ kane no, ɛfiri sɛ, saa ɛberɛ no na ɛyɛ ma me sene seesei.’
She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them. She will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say, “I will return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than it is now.”
8 Ɔnnkae sɛ me na memaa no aduane, nsã foforɔ ne ngo, deɛ ɔmaa sikakɔkɔɔ ne dwetɛ buu no so ma wɔde kɔsom Baal no.
For she had not known that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they then used for Baal.
9 “Enti, sɛ mʼaduane no duru twaberɛ a mɛfa mʼadeɛ, ne me nsã foforɔ no nso saa ara. Mɛgye me kuntu ne me nwera, a anka mepɛ sɛ ɔde kata nʼadagya so no.
So I will take back her grain at harvest time, and my new wine in its season. I will take back my wool and flax that were used to cover her nakedness.
10 Enti afei mɛbɔ no adagya wɔ nʼadɔfoɔ anim; obiara rentumi nnye no mfiri me nsam.
Then I will strip her naked in the sight of her lovers, and no one will rescue her out of my hand.
11 Mɛtwa nʼafahyɛ nyinaa so: nʼafenhyia afahyɛ, Ɔbosome Foforɔ afahyɛ Home Ɛda afahyɛ ne nʼafahyɛ ahodoɔ nyinaa.
I will also cause all her celebrations to cease— her feasts, her new moon celebrations, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals.
12 Mɛsɛe ne bobe ne borɔdɔma nnua, deɛ ɔka sɛ nʼadɔfoɔ de tuaa no ka no; mɛyɛ ne nyinaa nkyɛkyerɛ, ama wiram mmoa awe.
“I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, of which she has said, 'These are the wages that my lovers gave me.' I will make them a forest, and the animals of the field will eat them.
13 Mɛtwe nʼaso wɔ nna a ɔhyee aduhwam maa Baal no ho; ɔde nkawa ne agudeɛ hyehyɛɛ ne ho, tu dii nʼadɔfoɔ akyi, medeɛ ne werɛ firii me,” deɛ Awurade seɛ nie.
I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals, when she burned incense to them, when she adorned herself with her rings and jewelry, and she went after her lovers and forgot me— this is Yahweh's declaration.”
14 “Enti merekɔdaadaa no; mede no bɛkɔ anweatam so na makasa bɔkɔɔ akyerɛ no wɔ hɔ.
So I am going to win her back. I will bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.
15 Mɛsane de ne bobe mfuo ama no. Mɛyɛ Akɔr bɔnhwa no, anidasoɔ ɛkwan. Ɛhɔ na ɔbɛto dwom sɛdeɛ na ɔyɛ ne mmabunu berɛ mu no ne ɛberɛ a ɔfirii Misraim no.
I will give her back her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope. She will answer me there as she did in the days of her youth, as in the days that she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 “Saa ɛda no,” sei na Awurade seɛ, “Wobɛfrɛ me ‘me kunu’; na woremfrɛ me ‘me wura’ bio.
“It will be in that day—this is Yahweh's declaration— that you will call me, 'My husband,' and you will no longer call me, 'My Baal.'
17 Mɛyi Baal ahodoɔ din no afiri nʼano; na ɔrenkankye wɔ wɔn din mu bio.
For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; their names will not be remembered anymore.”
18 Saa ɛda no, mɛyɛ apam ama wɔn, wɔne wiram mmoa ne ewiem nnomaa ne mmoa a wɔwea wɔ asase so. Tadua, mpea ne ɔko, mɛbra wɔ asase no so sɛdeɛ wɔn nyinaa bɛtena ase asomdwoeɛ mu.
“On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts in the fields, with the birds in the sky, and with the crawling things on the ground. I will drive away the bow, the sword, and the battle from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.
19 Mɛware wo afebɔɔ; mɛyi tenenee ne atɛntenenee, ahummɔborɔ ne ayamhyehyeɛ akyerɛ wo.
I will promise to be your husband forever. I will promise to be your husband in righteousness, justice, covenant faithfulness, and mercy.
20 Mɛware wo nokorɛ mu, ama woahunu Awurade.
I will pledge myself to you in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.
21 “Saa ɛda no, mɛgye wo so,” deɛ Awurade seɛ nie. “Mɛgye ɔsoro so, na ɔsoro de osuo bɛgye asase so,
On that day, I will answer—this is Yahweh's declaration— I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth.
22 na asase nso bɛgye mfudeɛ so: bobe foforɔ ne ngo dua, na wɔn nso agye so sɛ ‘Yesreel’, ‘Onyankopɔn na wadua’.
The earth will answer the grain, the new wine and the oil, and they will answer Jezreel.
23 Mede Israel bɛdua asase no so ama me ho; mɛda me dɔ adi akyerɛ deɛ mekaa sɛ ‘wonnyɛ me dɔfo’ no. Meka akyerɛ wɔn a mesee wɔn sɛ ‘monnyɛ me nkurɔfoɔ’ sɛ ‘moyɛ me nkurɔfoɔ’, na wɔn nso aka sɛ, ‘Wone me Onyankopɔn.’”
I will plant her for myself in the land, and I will have mercy on Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, 'You are Ammi Attah,' and they will say to me, 'You are my God.'”

< Hosea 2 >