Israel Betwa Mfɛtɛ Aba
1“Monhyɛn torobɛnto!
Ɔkɔre bi wɔ Awurade fifo so
efisɛ nnipa no abu mʼapam so
na wɔasɔre atia me mmara.
2Afei Israel su frɛ me se,
‘Yɛn Nyankopɔn, yegye wo to mu!’
3Nanso Israel apo nea eye;
ɔtamfo bɛtaa no.
4Wosisi ahemfo a minnim ho hwee,
wɔpaw ahenemma wɔ bere a mempenee so ɛ.
Wɔde wɔn dwetɛ ne wɔn sikakɔkɔɔ yɛ ahoni ma wɔn ho
de sɛe wɔn ankasa ho.
5Tow wo nantwi ba ohoni no kyene, Samaria!
Mʼabufuwhyew reba wɔn so.
Wɔbɛtena nea ɛho ntew mu akosi da bɛn?
6Wofi Israel!
Saa nantwi ba yi, odwumfo bi na osenii;
ɛnyɛ Onyankopɔn!
Wobebubu mu asinasin,
saa Samaria nantwi ba no.
7“Wodua mframa
na wotwa mfɛtɛ.
Awi a egyina hɔ no nni ti;
nti wɔrennya siam mfi mu.
Sɛ ɛsow aduan mpo a,
ahɔho na wobedi.
8Wɔamene Israel;
afei ɔfra aman no mu
te sɛ ade a so nni mfaso biara.8.8 Wɔfaa Israel sɛ Onyankopɔn ankasa nkurɔfo (2 Mose 19.5; Amos 3.2). Nanso esiane sɛ ɔde ne ho akɔma aman foforo bi nti, nʼanuonyam pa ma ɔbɛyɛɛ animguaseman maa Onyankopɔn.
9Na wɔakɔ Asiria
te sɛ wuram afurum a ɔno nko ara nenam.
Efraim nso atɔn ne ho ama adɔfo.
10Ɛwɔ mu, wɔatɔn wɔn ho wɔ amanaman no mu de,
nanso mɛboaboa wɔn ano.
Wɔn so befi ase atew
wɔ ɔhene kɛse bi nhyɛso ase.
11“Ɛwɔ mu sɛ Efraim sisii afɔremuka bebree a wɔbɔ bɔnefakyɛ afɔre wɔ so de,
ɛno nti abɛyɛ afɔremuka a wɔyɛ bɔne wɔ so.
12Mekyerɛw me mmara a ɛfa nneɛma bebree ho maa wɔn,
nanso wɔfaa no sɛ ananafo ade.
13Wɔde mʼayɛyɛde bɔ afɔre
na wɔwe nam no,
nanso wɔnsɔ Awurade ani.
Afei ɔbɛkae wɔn atirimɔdensɛm
na wɔatwe wɔn aso wɔ wɔn bɔne ho:
Wɔbɛsan akɔ Misraim.
14Israel werɛ afi ne yɛfo
na wasisi ahemfi akɛseakɛse;
Yuda abɔ nkurow bebree ho ban.
Nanso mɛto ne nkuropɔn mu gya
a ɛbɛhyew wɔn aban.”
Israel Will Harvest a Windstorm
1The Lord said to me,
“Put a trumpet to your lips!
Give a warning to my people!
Assyria is like an eagle.
It is ready to attack my land.
My people have broken the covenant I made with them.
They have refused to obey my law.
2Israel shouts to me,
‘We recognize you as our God!’
3But they have turned away from what is good.
So an enemy will chase them.
4My people appoint kings I do not want.
They choose princes without my permission.
They use their silver and gold
to make statues of gods.
That is how they destroy themselves.”
5The Lord says, “People of Samaria,
throw out your god that looks like a calf!
I am very angry with them.
How long will it be until they are able
to remain faithful to me?
6Their calf is not God.
A skilled worker from Israel made it.
But that calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.”
7The Lord says,
“Worshiping other gods is like worshiping the wind.
It is like planting worthless seeds.
Assyria is like a windstorm.
That is all my people will harvest.
There are no heads of grain
on the stems that will come up.
So they will not produce any flour.
Even if they did produce grain,
the Assyrians would eat all of it up.
8So the people of Israel are swallowed up.
Now they are among the nations
like something no one wants.
9They have gone up to Assyria for help.
They are like a wild donkey
that wanders around by itself.
Ephraim’s people have sold themselves
to their Assyrian lovers.
10They have sold themselves to the nations
to get their help.
But now I will gather them together.
They will get weaker and weaker.
The mighty kings of Assyria will crush them.
11“Ephraim built many altars where they sacrificed
sin offerings to other gods.
So their altars have become
places where they commit sin.
12In my law I wrote down many things for their good.
But they considered those things as something strange.
13They offer sacrifices as gifts to me.
They eat the meat of the animals they bring.
But the Lord is not pleased with any of this.
He will remember the evil things they have done.
He will punish them for their sins.
And they will return to Egypt.
14Israel has forgotten the God who made them.
They have built palaces for themselves.
Judah has built forts in many towns.
But I will send down fire on their cities.
It will burn up their forts.”
