1Efraim de mframa ayɛ aduan;
odi apuei mframa akyi daa
na odi atoro yɛ akakabensɛm bebree.
Ɔne Asiria yɛ apam
na ɔde ngo kɔ Misraim.
2Awurade wɔ sobo de bɔ Yuda;
ɔbɛtwe Yakob aso wɔ nʼakwan ho
na watua no ne nneyɛe so ka.
3Ɔyafunu mu na osoo ne nua nantin;
onyinii no, ɔne Onyankopɔn peperee so.
4Ɔne ɔbɔfo tentam dii ne so nkonim;
ɔde nusu srɛɛ ne nkyɛn adom.
Ohuu no wɔ Bet-El
ne no kasaa wɔ hɔ.
5Asafo Awurade Nyankopɔn,
Awurade ne ne din a ahyeta!
6Ɛsɛ sɛ wosan kɔ wo Nyankopɔn nkyɛn.
Tena ɔdɔ ne trenee mu,
na twɛn wo Nyankopɔn daa.
7Oguadini de asisi nsania yɛ nʼadwuma;
nʼani gye asisi ho.
8Efraim hoahoa ne ho sɛ,
“Meyɛ ɔdefo; manya me ho.
Mʼahonya nyinaa mu wɔrenhu
amumɔyɛ biara wɔ me ho.”
9“Mene Awurade wo Nyankopɔn,
a miyii wo fii Misraim.
Mɛma woakɔtena ntamadan mu bio
sɛnea na woyɛ wɔ wʼaponto afahyɛ nna mu no.
10Mekasa kyerɛɛ adiyifo,
memaa wɔn anisoadehu bebree
na mefaa wɔn so kaa mmebusɛm.”
11Gilead yɛ otirimɔdenfo ana?
Emu nnipa no yɛ ahuhufo!
Wɔde anantwi bɔ afɔre wɔ Gilgal ana?
Wɔn afɔremuka bɛyɛ te sɛ abo
a wɔahɔre no siw wɔ asase a wɔafuntum so.
12Yakob guan kɔɔ Aramfo asase so;
Israel som de nyaa ɔyere,
ɔhwɛɛ nguan de tuaa ti nsa.
13Awurade nam odiyifo so
yii Israel fii Misraim,
ɔnam odiyifo so hwɛɛ no.
14Nanso Efraim ahyɛ no abufuw yayaayaw;
nʼAwurade bɛma ne mogyahwiegu ho afɔdi ada no so
na obetua nʼanimtiaabu no so ka.
1The people of Ephraim look to others for help.
It’s like chasing the wind.
The wind they keep chasing
is hot and dry.
They tell more and more lies.
They are always hurting others.
They make a peace treaty with Assyria.
They send olive oil to Egypt to get help.
2The Lord is bringing charges against Judah.
He will punish Jacob’s people
because of how they act.
He’ll pay them back
for the evil things they’ve done.
3Even before Jacob was born,
he was holding on to his brother’s heel.
When he became a man,
he struggled with God.
4At Peniel he struggled with the angel and won.
Jacob wept and begged for his blessing.
God also met with him at Bethel.
He talked with him there.
5He is the Lord God who rules over all.
His name is the Lord.
6People of Jacob, you must return to your God.
You must hold on to love and do what is fair.
You must trust in your God always.
7You are like a trader who uses dishonest scales.
You love to cheat others.
8People of Ephraim, you brag,
“We are very rich.
We’ve become wealthy.
And no one can prove we sinned
to gain all this wealth.”
9The Lord says,
“I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.
But I will make you live in tents again.
That is what you did when you celebrated
the Feast of Booths in the desert.
10I spoke to the prophets.
They saw many visions.
I gave you warnings through them.”
11The people of Gilead are evil!
They aren’t worth anything!
Gilgal’s people sacrifice bulls to other gods.
Their altars will become like piles of stones
on a plowed field.
12Jacob ran away to the country of Aram.
There Israel served Laban to get a wife.
He took care of sheep to pay for her.
13The prophet Moses brought Israel up from Egypt.
The Lord used him to take care of them.
14But Ephraim’s people have made the Lord very angry.
Their Lord will hold them accountable for the blood they’ve spilled.
He’ll pay them back for the shameful things they’ve done.
