Hosea 12
1 [The leaders of] Israel are constantly wavering [about seeking help from other countries]. [Seeking their help is as useless as] [MET] chasing the wind. They pile up their lies and violent acts. [First, ] they make a treaty with Assyria, and [then they] send olive oil to [the rulers of] Egypt [to seek their help].
Effraym fedith wynd, and sueth heete. Al dai he multiplieth leesyng, and distriyng; and he made boond of pees with Assiriens, and bar oile in to Egipt.
2 Yahweh [says that he] will bring accusations against [the leaders of] Judah, and that he will punish [the descendants of] Jacob for what they have done.
Therfor the doom of the Lord is with Juda, and visityng is on Jacob; bi the weies of hym, and bi the fyndyngis of hym he schal yelde to hym.
3 [When Jacob was] in his mother’s womb, he grabbed his brother [Esau’s] heel [because he wanted to be born first]. When Jacob grew up, he wrestled with God.
In the wombe he supplauntide his brother, and in his strengthe he was dressid with the aungel.
4 He struggled with [the one who had appeared to him in the form of] an angel, and Jacob defeated him, but [then] he cried and asked the angel to bless him. [Later], God came to Jacob at Bethel and talked with him there.
And he was strong to the aungel, and was coumfortid; he wepte, and preiede hym; in Bethel he foond hym, and there he spak with vs.
5 [That was] the Commander of the armies of angels whose name is Yahweh [who talked with him]!
And the Lord God of oostis, the Lord, is the memorial of hym.
6 But you [people of Israel] must return to your God! You must faithfully love [him], and you must do what is fair/just and always depend on him.
And thou schalt turne to thi God. Kepe thou merci and doom, and hope thou euere in thi God.
7 The merchants [among you] use scales that do not weigh correctly; they love/like to cheat people.
Chanaan louyde fals caleng, a gileful balaunce in his hond.
8 [The people of] Israel boast, saying “We are [very] rich [DOU]; and we got all that money by our own efforts, and without committing any sin.”
And Effraym seide, Netheles Y am maad riche, Y haue founde an idol to me; alle my trauelis schulen not fynde to me the wickidnesse, whiche Y synnede.
9 “I am Yahweh your God, [the one who brought your ancestors] out of Egypt. [And some day] I will force you to live in tents again [like your ancestors did] when [they celebrated] the Festival [of Living in Temporary Shelters].
And Y am thi Lord God fro the lond of Egipt; yit Y schal make thee to sitte in tabernaclis, as in the daies of feeste.
10 [Many times] I spoke to the prophets, and I gave them many visions, and I gave them parables to tell [to the people].”
And Y spak bi profetis, and Y multiplied profesie, and Y was licned in the hond of profetis.
11 [The people of] Gilead [city] are [RHQ] extremely wicked; they are worthless. The people sacrifice bulls in Gilgal [city], but their altars will [soon] become like [SIM] piles of stone [at the edge of] a plowed field.
If Galaad worschipith an idol, therfor thei erren in veyn offryng to oxis in Galgal; for whi and the auteris of hem schulen be as heepis on the forewis of the feeld.
12 [Your ancestor] Jacob fled [from his brother Esau] and went to northwest Mesopotamia. He worked [for his uncle Laban for many years] to get a wife; he took care of [his uncle’s] sheep [to pay] for her.
Jacob fledde in to the cuntrei of Sirie, and Israel seruyde for a wijf, and seruyde, ether kepte, for a wijf.
13 [Many years later, ] Yahweh enabled a prophet to bring the [ancestors of you] people of Israel here from Egypt; that prophet, [Moses], took care of them.
But bi a profete the Lord ledde Israel out of Egipt, and bi a profete he was kept.
14 [But now the people of] Israel have caused [Yahweh] to become very angry; Yahweh says that they deserve to die because they caused [many others] to die [MTY]; he will pay them back for the sins that they have committed against him and for insulting him.
Effraym terride me to wrathfulnesse in hise bitternessis, and the blood of hym schal come on hym; and his Lord schal restore to hym the schenschipe of him.
