Hosea 8
1 Put a trumpet to your lips! An eagle swoops over the house of the Lord because they have broken my agreement and rebelled against my law.
“Faka icilongo ezindebeni zakho! Ukhozi lungaphezu kwendlu kaThixo ngoba abantu basephule isivumelwano sami bahlamukela lomthetho wami.
2 Israel calls out to me, “Our God, we know you!”
U-Israyeli uyakhalaza kimi esithi, ‘Oh Nkulunkulu wethu, siyakwamukela!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good. An enemy will chase after them.
Kodwa u-Israyeli ukwalile okuhle; isitha sizaxotshana laye.
4 They appointed kings without my consent and chose princes without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
Babeka amakhosi kungekho mvumo yami; bakhetha ababusi kungekho mvumo yami. Ngesiliva sabo langegolide, bazenzela izithombe zibe yikubhujiswa kwabo.
5 Samaria, I reject this calf idol you have made! My anger burns against them! How long will you be incapable of being good?
Lahla isithombe sakho sethole, wena Samariya! Ulaka lwami luyavutha ngawe. Koze kube nini bengelamandla okuhlambuluka na?
6 This idol is from Israel! A craftsman made it—it's not God! The calf of Samaria will be broken in pieces!
Bavela ko-Israyeli! Ithole leli labunjwa yingcwethi; kalisuye Nkulunkulu. Lizachobozwa libe yizicucu, ithole lelo laseSamariya.
7 Those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head of grain; it will produce no flour. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would swallow it all up.
Bahlanyela umoya bavune isavunguzane. Ihlanga kalilasikhwebu; kaliyikuthela ifulawa. Aluba belingathela amabele, abezizweni kade bezawamimiliza.
8 Israel is swallowed up; among the nations they are like something nobody wants.
U-Israyeli useginyiwe; khathesi phakathi kwezizwe unjengento engelasizo.
9 They have gone up to Assyria like a donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers.
Ngoba sebeye e-Asiriya njengobabhemi weganga entula yedwa. U-Efrayimi uzithengisile kuzithandwa.
10 Even though they have hired allies among the nations, I will gather them together. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king.
Lanxa bezithengisile phakathi kwezizwe, ngizabaqoqela ndawonye. Bazaqalisa ukucikizeka bengaphansi kwencindezelo yenkosi elamandla.
11 Though Ephraim built many altars to make sin offerings, they instead became altars of sin!
Lanxa u-Efrayimi wakha ama-alithare amanengi eminikelo yezono, asebe ngama-alithare okwenza izono.
12 I wrote down for them the many aspects of my law, but they looked on them as foreign.
Ngabalobela izinto ezinengi zomthetho wami kodwa bona bazithatha njengento engaziwayo.
13 They present me with their sacrifices, and they eat the meat, but I the Lord do not accept them. Now he will remember their wickedness, and punish them for their sins. They will return to Egypt.
Banikela imihlatshelo njengezipho kimi babuye badle inyama yakhona, kodwa uThixo kathokozi ngabo. Khathesi usezakhumbula ukuxhwala kwabo abajezisele izono zabo: Bazabuyela eGibhithe.
14 Israel has forgotten his maker, and built palaces; Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will rain fire down on their cities and burn up their fortresses.
U-Israyeli usemkhohliwe uMenzi wakhe wakha izindlu zamakhosi; uJuda usevikele amadolobho amanengi ngezinqaba. Kodwa ngizathumela umlilo emadolobheni abo ozaqothula izinqaba zabo.”
