Hosea 8
1 “Weka tarumbeta katika midomo yako! Tai anakuja juu ya nyumba ya Bwana kwa sababu watu wamevunja agano langu na waliasi dhidi ya sheria yangu.
Put the horn to your mouth! An eagle swoops down upon the house of the Lord because they have transgressed my covenant, trespassed against my law.
2 Wananililia,'Mungu wangu, sisi katika Israeli tunakujua.'
To me they continually cry, ‘My God, we Israel, we know you!’
3 Lakini Israeli amekataa mema, na adui atamfuata.
But Israel has spurned that which is good, so let the foe pursue him.
4 Wameweka wafalme, lakini sio kwa shauri langu. Wamewafanya wakuu, lakini sikuwa na habari. Kwa fedha zao na dhahabu wamejifanyia sanamu wenyewe, ili wakatiliwe mbali.”
They themselves have made kings but without my consent. They have made princes but without my knowledge. Out of their silver and gold, they have made idols to their destruction!
5 “Ndama yako imekataliwa, Samaria. Hasira yangu inawaka juu ya watu hawa. Kwa muda gani watakuwa na hatia?
Your calf idol, O Samaria, is distasteful. My anger is kindled against them. How long will they escape punishment?
6 Kwa maana sanamu hii ilitoka Israeli; fundi aliifanya; si Mungu! Ndama ya Samaria itavunjwa vipande vipande.
Israel made the thing: a workman made it. It is not a god! Samaria’s calf will become mere splinters.
7 Kwa maana watu hupanda upepo na kuvuna kimbunga. Mbegu zilizosimama hazina vichwa; haitoi unga. Ikiwa itakomaa, wageni watakula.
They sow the wind and will reap the whirlwind. A shoot which has no stalk, yields no fruit If it should yield, strangers would devour it.
8 Israeli imemezwa; sasa wanalala kati ya mataifa kama kitu kisicho na maana.
Israel is devoured. Already it lies discarded among the nations like a worthless pot.
9 Kwa maana walikwenda Ashuru kama punda wa mwitu pekee. Efraimu ameajiri wapenzi kwa ajili yake mwenyewe.
For by themselves they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey which wanders by itself. Ephraim pays for love
10 Hata ingawa wameajiri wapenzi kati ya mataifa, sasa nitawakusanya pamoja. Wao wataanza kupotea kwa sababu ya unyanyasaji wa mfalme wa wakuu.
but even if they sell themselves among the nations, I will round them up. Soon the kings and princes will writhe under the burden of tribute!
11 Kwa maana Efraimu imeongeza madhabahu kwa sadaka za dhambi, lakini zimekuwa madhabahu kwa kufanya dhambi.
For as many altars as Ephraim has erected, they are to him altars for sinning,
12 Niliweza kuandika sheria yangu kwao mara elfu kumi, lakini wangeiona kama kitu cha ajabu kwao.
were I to write for him ever so many instructions, they would be regarded as from a stranger.
13 Kwa ajili ya dhabihu za sadaka zangu, hutoa nyama na kuila, lakini mimi, Bwana, siwakubali. Sasa nitafikiri juu ya uovu wao na kuadhibu dhambi zao. Watarudi Misri.
The people love sacrifice, and so they offer sacrifices, meat, and so they eat it, although the Lord is not pleased with them, so now he will remember their guilt, and punish their sins. Back to Egypt with them!
14 Israeli amenisahau mimi, Muumba wake, na amejenga majumba. Yuda ameimarisha miji mingi, lakini nitatuma moto juu ya miji yake; itaharibu ngome zake.
For Israel forgot his Maker and built palaces, and Judah multiplied fortified cities. But I will send fire upon her cities, and it will devour her strongholds.
