God's Care for Israel
1 The Lord told me 2 to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.
“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,
how you loved me when we were first married;
you followed me through the desert,
through a land that had not been planted.
3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;
you were my sacred possession.
I sent suffering and disaster
on everyone who hurt you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
The Sin of Israel's Ancestors
4 Listen to the Lord's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel. 5 The Lord says:
“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?
What made them turn away from me?
They worshiped worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
6 They did not care about me,
even though I rescued them from Egypt
and led them through the wilderness:
a land of deserts and sand pits,
a dry and dangerous land
where no one lives
and no one will even travel.
7 I brought them into a fertile land,
to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.
But instead they ruined my land;
they defiled the country I had given them.
8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’
My own priests did not know me.
The rulers rebelled against me;
the prophets spoke in the name of Baal
and worshiped useless idols.
The Lord's Case against His People
9 “And so I, the Lord, will state my case against my people again.
I will bring charges against their descendants.
10 Go west to the island of Cyprus,
and send someone eastward to the land of Kedar.
You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.
11 No other nation has ever changed its gods,
even though they were not real.
But my people have exchanged me,
the God who has brought them honor,
for gods that can do nothing for them.
12 And so I command the sky to shake with horror,
to be amazed and astonished,
13 for my people have committed two sins:
they have turned away from me,
the spring of fresh water,
and they have dug cisterns,
cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.
The Results of Israel's Unfaithfulness
14 “Israel is not a slave;
he was not born into slavery.
Why then do his enemies hunt him down?
15 They have roared at him like lions;
they have made his land a desert,
and his towns lie in ruins, completely abandoned.
16 Yes, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked his skull.
17 Israel, you brought this on yourself!
You deserted me, the Lord your God,
while I was leading you along the way.
18 What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile?
What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates?
19 Your own evil will punish you,
and your turning from me will condemn you.
You will learn how bitter and wrong it is
to abandon me, the Lord your God,
and no longer to remain faithful to me.
I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
Israel Refuses to Worship the Lord
20 The Sovereign Lord says,
“Israel, long ago you rejected my authority;
you refused to obey me and worship me.
On every high hill
and under every green tree
you worshiped fertility gods.
21 I planted you like a choice vine
from the very best seed.
But look what you have become!
You are like a rotten, worthless vine.
22 Even if you washed with the strongest soap,
I would still see the stain of your guilt.
23 How can you say you have not defiled yourself,
that you have never worshiped Baal?
Look how you sinned in the valley;
see what you have done.
You are like a wild camel in heat,
running around loose,
24 rushing into the desert.
When she is in heat, who can control her?
No male that wants her has to trouble himself;
she is always available in mating season.
25 Israel, don't wear your feet out,
or let your throat become dry
from chasing after other gods.
But you say, ‘No! I can't turn back.
I have loved foreign gods
and will go after them.’”
Israel Deserves to Be Punished
26 The Lord says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced—your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. 27 You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.
28 “Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you—if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities. 29 What is your complaint? Why have you rebelled against me? 30 I punished you, but it did no good; you would not let me correct you. Like a raging lion, you have murdered your prophets. 31 People of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Have I been like a desert to you, like a dark and dangerous land? Why, then, do you say that you will do as you please, that you will never come back to me? 32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted. 33 You certainly know how to chase after lovers. Even the worst of women can learn from you. 34 Your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and innocent, not with the blood of burglars.
“But in spite of all this, 35 you say, ‘I am innocent; surely the Lord is no longer angry with me.’ But I, the Lord, will punish you because you deny that you have sinned. 36 You have cheapened yourself by turning to the gods of other nations. You will be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were by Assyria. 37 You will turn away from Egypt, hanging your head in shame. I, the Lord, have rejected those you trust; you will not gain anything from them.”
Ndjambi u rikendera Israel
1 Muhona we ndji raera kutja 2 mbi zuvarise ombuze ndji kOjerusalem, ndji mai tja nai:
“Ami me zemburuka ove tji wa ri omuṱakame,
ngunda au ri omutanda,
na tji we ndji suverere,
eṱe tji twa uta okukupasana;
ove we ndji kongorera mokuti onguza,
kehi, ndi hi na ra kuninwe.
3 Israel, ove erike wa ri owandje omuini,
ove wa ri ouini wandje ouyapuke.
Ami mba hinda omihihamo notjiwonga
ku ngamwa auhe nguye ku hihamisa.
Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona,
owami ngu mba hungire.”
Ourunde wooihe mukururume va Israel
4 Purateneye kombuze ya Muhona, oweṋe zondekurona za Jakob, oweṋe mihoko vya Israel. 5 Muhona ma tja nai:
“Otjikeṋa otjivi ooiho mukururume
tji va muna mu ami,
tji tja tjita kutja ve poke ku ami?
Owo ve rikotamenene koomukuru
vovisenginina vakaseruseru,
nowo oveni ave rire oviporoporo.
6 Owo kave ningire ko na tja na ami,
nangarire kutja ami mbe ve pitisire mOengipte,
ne ve ṱike mokuti onguza,
okutja mehi orunguza rozondundu neheke
nda kukuta nenaumba,
mu mu ha hupu omundu
nu mu mu hi na indu maamu ryanga omundu.
7 Ami mbe ve eta mehi ehapise
okuyekurya ovihape vyaro
nokuyekuyorokera oviṋa vyarwe oviwa.
Nungwari moruveze rwanao owo va zunḓa ehi randje
nave yamburura ehi, ndi mbe ve pa.
8 Ovapristeri kave purire kutjaMuhona u ri pi.
Ovapristeri vandje omuini kave ndji tjivirwe.
Ovahongore votjiwaṋa ve ndji pirukira.
Ovaprofete va uka mena ra Baal
nave rikotamene koviserekarera vyovisenginina,
mbi hi nomasa okuvatera.”
Otjiposa tja Ndjambi kuna otjiwaṋa tje
9 “Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona,
otji me tye otjiposa tjandje kuna otjiwaṋa tjandje rukwao.
Me posisa ozondekurona zatjo.
10 Twendeye kuṱa kongurova kekoverwa Siprus,
nu mu kamune omundu worive
kuṱa komuhuka kehi ra Kedar.
Eṋe mamu kamuna kutja kape na
pu pa tjitirwe otjiṋa otja ihi rukuru.
11 Kape notjiwaṋa tjarwe tji tja pimburura oomukuru vatjo,
nangarire kutja owo va ri oviṋa vya kauriri.
Nungwari otjiwaṋa tjandje tje ndji pimburura
noomukuru mbe hi notjiṋa tji ve tjita ku wo,
ami ngwi Ndjambi, ngu mbe ve etera ondjingonekero.
12 Ami otji me rakiza evaverwa ri nyinganyinge mondiriro
kutja owo ve kumwe nu ve temwe tjinene.
13 Orondu otjiwaṋa tjandje tja tjita ouvi tuvari:
Otjo tja humburuka na ami,
ngu mbi ri oruharwi rwomeva omanamuinyo,
notjo tja hupura ozombu,
inḓa ozombu, nḓa wira nu ndi hi
na maaze ṱiza omeva oparukaze.”
Ovitjitwa mbya za mouhaṱakama wa Israel
14 “Israel kamukarere;
eye ka kwaterwe moukarere.
Okutjavi ovanavita na ye tji ve mu tjita okurira otjipundwa?
15 Owo ve mu tyera ovimboro otja ozongeyama,
owo va tjita ehi re okurira ongaango,
novihuro vye vya rira omatundu,
vya isiwa oparukaze.
16 Ii, ovarumendu va Memfis nova Takpanhes
ve mu teta ozombara motjiuru.
17 Israel, ove we riyetera oviṋa mbi kombanda yoye!
Ove we ndjesa, ngu mbi
ri Muhona, Ndjambi woye,
ngunda ame ku ṱike mondjira.
18 Mo ripura kutja mo kamunina po
tjike mokuyenda kOengipte
okukanwa omeva mOnil?
Mo ripura kutja mo kamunina po
tjike mokuyenda kOasirie
okukanwa omeva mOeufrat?
19 Ouvi woye omuini mau ku vere,
nokuhumburuka kwoye na ami maku ku vyura.
Ove mo tjiwa kutja, tjiri, okokuvi notjitetarise okundjiesa,
nokuhinokukara nouṱakame ku ami,
ngu mbi ri Muhona Ndjambi woye.
Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona Ndjambi
Omunamasaaehe, owami ngu mba hungire.”
Israel ma panḓa okurikotamena ku Muhona
20 Muhona Ndjambi Omunamasaaehe ma tja:
“Israel, okuza korukuru ove wa imbirahi ouvara wandje;
ove wa panḓa okukara nonḓuviro
ku ami nokurikotamena ku ami.
Ove we rikotamena koomukuru vorukwato
kondundu aihe ondongame
na kehi yomuti auhe woruhapo.
21 Ami mbe ku kuna otja omuvite omutoororwa
mbwa za kondwi ombwa.
Nungwari, tara omuhingo mbu u ri!
Ove u ri otja omuvite mbwa wora,
nu mbu hi nohepero.
22 Nandi we rikoho noheva ndji kohora nawa tjinene,
ami ingee me munu omani wondjo yoye.
23 Mo sora vi okutja ove ko rizunḓire omuini,
nokutja ko na pu we rikotamena ku Baal?
Tara omuhingo mbu wa tura ondjo momukutu;
muna imbi mbi wa tjita!
Ove u ri otja ongamero onḓenḓu motjipyu tjozonḓuma,
ndji tupuka uriri amai hangahanga,
24 nu amai hakahana okuyenda mokuti onguza.
Oyo tji i ri motjipyu tjozonḓuma, owaṋi ngu ma sora okuitjaera?
Ondwezu aihe ndji mai i vanga, kai nomerikendero;
indji onḓenḓu mai rieta oini moruveze rwokurondwa.
25 Israel, ṱakamisa kutja o ha kayata huuna,
nu o ha kakangara mokukongorera
oomukuru vovisenginina.
Nungwari ove motja: ‘Ayee, kako!
Ami hi nokukotoka,
mba suvera oomukuru wozonganda,
nu meve kongorere!’ ”
Israel wa pu pokuverwa
26 Muhona ma tja: “Otja erunga punga ari ṱohoṋi tji ra kamburwa, eṋe amuhe, Vaisrael, opunga amamu ṱohoṋi pamwe nozombara zeṋu novahongore novapristeri novaprofete veṋu. 27 Eṋe amuhe mamu ṱisiwa ohoṋi, eṋe mba mbu mu tja omuti oiho noruuwa onyoko. Ihi matji tjitwa mena raindu tji mwa humburuka na ami moruveze rwokukotoka ku ami. Nungwari eṋe tji mu ri moumba, mu riheka ku ami kutja mbi yekumuyama.
28 “Oomukuru mbu we riungurira ve ri pi? Tji u ri moumba, owo ngave ku yame tji mave sora! Juda, ove u noomukuru ovengi otja pu u novihuro ovingi. 29 Omaunaunino weṋu owatjike? Mwe ndji pirukirira tjike? 30 Ami mbe mu vera, nu kape vaterere; kamu vangere kutja mbi mu vyure. Eṋe mwa zepa ovaprofete veṋu tjimuna ongeyama otjindandi onyondorore tji i tjita. 31 Tjiwaṋa tja Israel, puratena ku imbi mbi me hungire. Ami mba rira otja okuti onguza kove, notja ehi nda zorera nenaumba are? Okutjavi tji motja mo tjiti otja tji movanga, nokutja komoo kotoka ku ami? 32 Omusuko u zemba oviriharekwa vye are poo omuvarekwa u zemba ewiwiri re rorukupo are? Nungwari otjiwaṋa tjandje tje ndji zemba omayuva omengi nge ha sora okuvarwa. 33 Ove, tjiri, mo tjiwa okukongorera ozombarise zoye. Nangarire omukazendu omuvi tjinene me rihongere kove. 34 Ozombanda zoye za rimbara ombinḓu yovasyona novehinandjo, nungwari ndji he ri kutja oyomarunga.
“Nu moviṋa mbi avihe, 35 ove u tja: ‘Ami hi nondjo; tjiri, Muhona ke tji nomazenge na ami.’ Nungwari ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, me ku vere, tjinga awa pataṋa kutja ove wa tura ondjo. 36 Ove wa wa kehi tjinene mokutanaukira koomukuru voviwaṋa vyozonganda! Ove mo hihamisiwa omutima i Engipte tjimuna tji wa ri pOasirie. 37 Mo zu ko kOengipte awe rihuhuta mohoṋi. Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, mba imbirahi imba ove ku we riyameka; ko notjiṋa tji mo munu mu wo.”
