< Jeremiah 3 >

1 “It is commonly said: ‘If a man has divorced his wife, and she departs from him, she will marry another man.’ So why would he return to her again? Is not that woman polluted and defiled? But you have fornicated yourself with many lovers. Even so, return to me, says the Lord, and I will accept you.
“ʻOku nau pehē, ‘Kapau ʻe tukuange ʻe ha tangata ʻa hono uaifi, pea te ne ʻalu ʻiate ia, pea mali mo e tangata kehe, te ne toe haʻu kiate ia?’ ʻIkai ʻoku ʻuli lahi ai ʻae fonua ko ia? Ka kuo ke fai angahala mo e mamana tokolahi: ka ʻoku kei pehē, ʻe Sihova, Tafoki mai kiate au.
2 Lift your eyes straight up, and see where you did not debase yourself. You were sitting in the roadways, waiting for them, like a robber in the wilderness. And you have polluted the land by your fornications and by your wickedness.
“Hanga hake ho mata ki he ngaahi potu māʻolunga, pea vakai ha potu naʻe ʻikai te ke angahala ai. Kuo ke tatali kiate kinautolu ʻi he ngaahi hala, ʻo hangē ko e ʻAlepea ʻi he toafa; kuo ke fakaʻuliʻi ʻae fonua ʻi hoʻo angahala, mo hoʻo fai kovi.
3 For this reason, the rain showers were withheld, and there were no late season rains. You made your face like that of a promiscuous woman; you were not willing to blush.
Ko ia kuo taʻofi ai ʻae ʻuha tuʻu mo tō, pea naʻe ʻikai ai ʻae ʻuha mui; kuo ke maʻu ʻae foʻi laʻē ʻoe fefine angahala, pea ko ia ʻoku ʻikai te ke mā ai.
4 Therefore, at least from this moment on, call out to me: ‘You are my father, the guide of my virginity.’
‌ʻE ʻikai te ke tangi pehē mai kiate au ʻo fai mei he ʻaho ni, ‘Ko ʻeku tamai koe, ko hoku fakahinohino ʻi heʻeku siʻi?’
5 Why should you be angry unceasingly? And will you continue in this to the end? Behold, you have spoken and done evil, for you were able to do so.”
“‘Pea ʻe maʻu ʻa hono houhau ʻo taʻengata?’ Te ne kuku maʻu ia ʻo aʻu ki he ngataʻanga? Vakai, kuo ke lea mo fai ʻae ngaahi meʻa kovi ʻo hangē ko hoʻo faʻa fai.”
6 And, in the days of king Josiah, the Lord said to me: “Have you not seen what the apostate Israel has done? She has brought herself up to every lofty mountain, and she has lain down under every leafy tree, and she has committed fornication there.
Pea naʻe pehē foki ʻe Sihova kiate au ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho ʻo Siosaia ko e tuʻi, “Kuo ke mamata ʻaia kuo fai ʻe ʻIsileli fakaholomui? kuo ne ʻalu hake ki he ngaahi moʻunga māʻolunga kotoa pē, pea fai angahala, ʻi he lolo ʻakau mata kotoa pē.
7 And when she had done all these things, I said: ‘Return to me.’ But she did not return. And her deceitful sister Judah saw this:
Pea hili ʻene fai ʻae ngaahi meʻa ni kotoa pē, naʻaku pehē, ‘Ke ke tafoki kiate au.’ Ka naʻe ʻikai te ne tafoki. Pea naʻe mamata ki ai ʻa hono tokoua kākā ko Siuta.
8 that because the apostate Israel had committed adultery, I had dismissed her and had given her a bill of divorce. Yet her deceitful sister Judah was not afraid. But she, too, went and committed fornication herself.
Pe ne u mamata, ʻi heʻeku tukuange ʻa ʻIsileli fakaholomui pea u ʻatu kiate ia ʻae tohi fakamavae, ko e meʻa ʻi heʻene ngaahi fai hala, ka naʻe ʻikai ke manavahē ai ʻa hono tokoua kākā ko Siuta, ka naʻa ne toe ʻalu mo ia ʻo fai angahala foki.
9 And by the act of her fornication, she defiled the land. For she committed adultery with that which is stone and wood.
Pea ko e meʻa ʻi he ongoongo ʻo ʻene feʻauaki naʻe ʻuliʻi ai ʻae fonua, ʻo ne fai angahala mo e ngaahi maka, pea mo e ngaahi ʻakau.
10 And after all these things, her deceitful sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but with lies, says the Lord.”
Ka ʻoku pehē ʻe Sihova, naʻe ʻikai ʻaupito tafoki kiate au ʻaki hono loto kotoa ʻa hono tokoua kākā ko Siuta, ka naʻa ne kākā ai pe.”
11 And the Lord said to me: “The apostate Israel has justified her own soul by comparing herself to the deceitful Judah.
Pea naʻe pehē ʻe Sihova kiate au, “Ko ʻIsileli fakaholomui kuo ne fakatonuhia ʻe ia ia ʻo lahi hake ʻia Siuta kākā.”
12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and you shall say: Return, O apostate Israel, says the Lord. For I will not avert my face from you. For I am holy, says the Lord, and I will not be angry forever.
ʻAlu ʻo fakahā ʻae ngaahi lea ni ki he potu tokelau, ʻo pehē, ʻoku pehē ʻe Sihova, ‘Tafoki mai, ʻa koe ko ʻIsileli fakaholomui; pea te u fakaafe ʻeku houhau meiate kimoutolu:’ he, ʻoku pehē ʻe Sihova, ‘ʻOku ou ʻaloʻofa, pea ʻe ʻikai te u fakatolonga taʻengata hoku houhau.
13 So then, truly acknowledge your iniquity, that you have betrayed the Lord your God, and that you have spread your ways to strangers, under every leafy tree, and that you have not listened to my voice, says the Lord.
Ke vete pe hoʻo hia, ʻaia kuo ke fai kia Sihova ko ho ʻOtua, pea mo e fakaʻuli ʻa hoʻo ʻulungāanga mo e kau muli ʻi he lolo ʻakau mata kotoa pē,’ pea ʻoku pehē ʻe Sihova, naʻe ʻikai te mou talangofua ki hoku leʻo.”
14 Convert, O rebellious sons, says the Lord. For I am your leader. And so, I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family, and I will lead you into Zion.
‌ʻOku pehē ʻe Sihova, “ʻE fānau fakaholomui tafoki mai; he kuo u fakamaau mo kimoutolu: pea te u toʻo ʻakimoutolu ko e taki tokotaha ʻi ha kolo, pea mo e toko ua ʻi ha faʻahinga, pea te u ʻomi ʻakimoutolu ki Saione.
15 And I will give you pastors according to my own heart. And they will feed you with knowledge and doctrine.
Pea te u foaki kiate kimoutolu ʻae kau tauhi ʻo hangē ko hoku loto, pea te nau fafanga ʻaki ʻakimoutolu ʻae poto mo e ʻilo.
16 And when you have been multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the Lord, they will no longer say: ‘The Ark of the covenant of the Lord!’ And it will not enter into the heart, and they will not call it to mind. It will neither be visited, nor made use of, any longer.
Pea ʻe hoko ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho ko ia, ʻoka mou ka tupu ʻo tokolahi ʻi he fonua,” ʻoku pehē ʻe Sihova, “ʻE ʻikai te nau toe pehē, ‘Ko e puha ʻoe fuakava ʻo Sihova;’ pea ʻe ʻikai hoko ia ki honau loto: pea ʻe ʻikai te nau manatu ki ai pe ʻaʻahi ki ai; pea ʻe ʻikai toe ngaohi ia.
17 In that time, Jerusalem will be called: ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ And all the nations will be gathered to it, in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem. And they will not walk after the depravity of their own most wicked heart.
Pea ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho ko ia te nau ui ʻa Selūsalema ‘Ko e ʻafioʻanga ʻo Sihova;’ pea ʻe fakataha ʻae kakai kotoa pē ki ai, ki Selūsalema, ki he huafa ʻo Sihova: pea ʻe ʻikai te nau toe muimui ki he fakakaukau kovi ʻa honau loto.
18 In those days, the house of Judah will go to the house of Israel, and they will come from the land of the north, at the same time, to the land that I gave to your fathers.
‌ʻE haʻu ʻae fale ʻo Siuta ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho ko ia ʻo ʻaʻeva mo e fale ʻo ʻIsileli, pea te na omi fakataha mei he fonua ʻi he tokelau ki he fonua ʻaia kuo u foaki ko e tofiʻa ki hoʻomou ngaahi tamai.
19 But I said: How shall I place you among the sons, and distribute to you a desirable land, the preeminent inheritance of the host of the Gentiles? And I said: You will call me Father, and you will not cease to walk after me.
“Pea naʻaku pehē, ‘ʻE fēfē ʻeku fakataha koe mo e fonua, pea foaki kiate koe ʻae fonua lelei, mo e tofiʻa lelei ʻoe kakai tokolahi?’ Pea naʻaku pehē, Ke ke ui au, “Ko hoʻo Tamai;” pea ʻe ʻikai te ke tafoki meiate au.”
20 But, in the same way that a woman spurns her lover, so also has the house of Israel spurned me, says the Lord.”
ʻOku pehē ʻe Sihova, “ʻE fale ʻo ʻIsileli, ko e moʻoni kuo mou fai kākā kiate au, ʻo hangē ko e fefine kākā kuo liʻaki hono husepāniti.”
21 A voice has been heard in the highways, the weeping and wailing of the sons of Israel. For they have made their own ways sinful; they have forgotten the Lord their God.
Naʻe ongoʻi ʻae leʻo ʻi he ngaahi potu māʻolunga, ko e tangi mo e tangilāulau ʻae fānau ʻa ʻIsileli: he kuo nau fakakoviʻi honau hala, pea kuo nau fakangalongaloʻi ʻa Sihova ko honau ʻOtua.
22 “Convert, O rebellious sons! And I will heal your rebelliousness.” “Behold, we are returning to you. For you are the Lord our God!
‌ʻAe fānau fakaholomui, mou tafoki, pea te u fakamoʻui hoʻomou fakaholomui. “Vakai, ʻoku mau haʻu kiate koe; he ko koe ko Sihova ko homau ʻOtua.
23 Truly, the hills were liars, with the multitude of the mountains. Truly, the salvation of Israel is in the Lord our God.
“Ko e moʻoni ʻoku taʻeʻaonga [ke ʻamanaki ʻae fakamoʻui ]mei he ngaahi potu māʻolunga, pea mei he ngaahi moʻunga: ko e moʻoni ʻoku ʻia Sihova ko hotau ʻOtua ʻae fakamoʻui ʻo ʻIsileli.
24 Confusion has devoured the labor of our fathers, from our youth, with their flocks and their herds, with their sons and their daughters.
He kuo fakaʻauha ʻi he tamapua fakamā ʻae ngāue ʻa ʻetau ngaahi tamai talu ʻemau tupu; ko ʻenau fanga sipi mo e fanga manu, ko honau ngaahi foha, pea mo e ʻofefine.
25 We will sleep in our confusion, and our disgrace will cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God: we and our fathers, from our youth, even to this day. And we have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God.”
‌ʻOku tau tokoto ʻi he mā, pea ʻoku ʻufiʻufi ʻakitautolu ʻe he fakamā: koeʻuhi kuo tau fai kovi kia Sihova ko hotau ʻOtua, ko kitautolu mo ʻetau ngaahi tamai, talu ʻetau kei siʻi ʻo aʻu ki he ʻaho ni, pea naʻe ʻikai te tau talangofua ki he leʻo ʻo Sihova ko hotau ʻOtua.”

< Jeremiah 3 >