Hosea Announces Punishment for Israel
1 People of Israel, stop celebrating your festivals like pagans. You have turned away from your God and have been unfaithful to him. All over the land you have sold yourselves like prostitutes to the god Baal and have loved the grain you thought he paid you with! 2 But soon you will not have enough grain and olive oil, and there will be no wine. 3 The people of Israel will not remain in the Lord's land, but will have to go back to Egypt and will have to eat forbidden food in Assyria. 4 In those foreign lands they will not be able to make wine offerings to the Lord or bring their sacrifices to him. Their food will defile everyone who eats it, like food eaten at funerals. It will be used only to satisfy their hunger; none of it will be taken as an offering to the Lord's Temple. 5 And when the time comes for the appointed festivals in honor of the Lord, what will they do then? 6 When the disaster comes and the people are scattered, the Egyptians will gather them up—gather them for burial there at Memphis! Their treasures of silver and the places where their homes once stood will be overgrown with weeds and thorn bushes.
7 The time for punishment has come, the time when people will get what they deserve. When that happens, Israel will know it! “This prophet,” you say, “is a fool. This inspired man is insane.” You people hate me so much because your sin is so great. 8 God has sent me as a prophet to warn his people Israel. Yet wherever I go, you try to trap me like a bird. Even in God's Temple the people are the prophet's enemies. 9 They are hopelessly evil in what they do, just as they were at Gibeah. God will remember their sin and punish them for it.
Israel's Sin and Its Consequences
10 The Lord says, “When I first found Israel, it was like finding grapes growing in the desert. When I first saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But when they came to Mount Peor, they began to worship Baal and soon became as disgusting as the gods they loved. 11 Israel's greatness will fly away like a bird, and there will be no more children born to them, no more women pregnant, no more children conceived. 12 But even if they did bring up children, I would take them away and not leave one alive. When I abandon these people, terrible things will happen to them.”
13 Lord, I can see their children being hunted down and killed. 14 What shall I ask you to do to these people? Make their women barren! Make them unable to nurse their babies!
The Lord's Judgment on Israel
15 The Lord says, “All their evildoing began in Gilgal. It was there that I began to hate them. And because of the evil they have done, I will drive them out of my land. I will not love them any more; all their leaders have rebelled against me. 16 The people of Israel are like a plant whose roots have dried up and which bears no fruit. They will have no children, but even if they did, I would kill the children so dear to them.”
The Prophet Speaks about Israel
17 The God I serve will reject his people, because they have not listened to him. They will become wanderers among the nations.
Hoseab ge Israeli ǁkharaba ra ǂanǂan
1 Tā ǃgâiaǂgao, sadu Israeli dido, ǁaedi ra dī khami; sadu ge aitsama sadu Eloba xu ge ǀaiǁgôa; ǀai-aode hoa dāǃnâǃkhaigu ǃhorob digu ai ǃgaesa du ge ge ǀnam i. 2 Dāǃnâǃkhaidi tsî ǀāǃnâǃkhaidi ge ǁaede ǂûmā tide, tsî ǀasa ǂauxûib ge ǁîna nî gā. 3 Tsîn ge ǁîna ǃKhūb di ǃhūb ǃnâ hâhâ tide tsîb ge Efraimma Egipteb ǁga nî oa tsîn ge Asiriab ǃnâ ǃanuoǃnâ ǂûna nî ǂû. 4 ǁÎn ge ǃKhūba ǂauxûiǁguibade ǁguiba tide tsî di ge ǁîba ǃgâiba tide; ǁguibadi ân ge ǃoab di pere-i khami ǁnān ǁî-e ga ǂûna nî ība. 5 Tare-ets mîmâisa ǁâudīb tsēs ai nî dī, tsî ǁâudītsēs ǃKhūb dis ai? 6 Hîǀhurusa xun ga ǁhâ xaweb ge Egipteba ǁîna nî ǀhaoǀhao, Memfis ge ǁîna nî ǁkhō; ǁîn di ǃgomǀgausa ǀhaiǀurib ge ǁîǁhain xa nî ǁhaiǂganhe tsîn ge ǁkhūna ǁîn tentdi ǃnâ nî hâ.
7 ǁKharab tsēdi ge go hā, tsēdi ǀkhaob didi ge go hā! Israeli dina ǂan kai re. “Kēbo-aob ge a gâ; gagab di khoeb ge ǃkhau hâ!” Sa kai ǃûǂamdi ǃaromab ge sa ǁkhanna a kai. 8 Kēbo-aob ge Efraimmi, ti Elob di ǁaes di ǃûi-ao, xawe gu ge aniǃkhō-aob di ǁnoaga kēbo-aob daogu ǃnâ ge ǁgui, khākhoesiba Elob ommi ǃnâ. 9 Gibeab tsēdi ǃnâs khamin ge ǁgaoǁgaosen hâ; ǁîb ge dīsādi âna ǂâihō tsî ǁîna nî ǁkhara.
Israeli ǁoreb tsî ǃaromadi
10 ǃKhūb ge ge mî: “ǃGaroǃhūb ǃnâ hâ draibehain khami ta ge Israela ge hō. ǂGuro ǂûn ǀnomahais din khami ta ge sadu aboxana ge mû. ǁÎn ge Baal-Peorsa xu hā tsî aitsama taosiba ǁîn ai ge khaibasen, tsîn ge ge ǁgaisi xū kai, ǀnamn hâb khami. 11 Efraimmi ǂkhaisib ge ani-i khami nî ǁkhanabē; ǁora-i tamas ka io ǁhā-i tamas ka io ǀgamǀkhā-i ge hâ tide. 12 Tsî ǀgôanan ga kaikai xawe ta ge tita ǁîna khoe-i xare-i ǃgau tides kōse nî ǃoaǃoa. Tsūba re ǁîna, tita ga ǁîna xu bēo.”
13 Efraimmi ge Tirus, ǃû-aiǃhūb ǃnâ tita xa ǃhanahe hâs khami īse ra mûsen. Xaweb ge Efraimma ôasana ǃgamaob ǃoa nî ǂoaxa-ū. 14 Tare-ets kha ǁîna nî mā ǃKhūtse? ǁÎna ǀgôao ǃnāb tsî ǀōsa samde mā re.
ǃKhūb di ǀgoraǃgâs Israels ǂama
15 ǃKhūb ge nēti ra mî: “Hoaraga ǂkhabasib ân ge Gilgals tawa hâ. ǁNāpa ta ge tita ǁîna ǁîn sîsengu di ǂkhabasib ǃaroma ǁkhan tsî ti omma xu nî doeǁgaǂui. ǃAruǀî ta ge ǁîna ǀnam tide, hoaraga ǂgaeǂgui-aogu ân ge a mâǃoaxa. 16 Efraimmi ge ǂnauhe hâ tsîb ge ǃnomab âna ǂnâ hâ tsîn ge ǂûtani tama hâ. ǁÎn ge nî ǁora tsî ta ge tita ǁnān hîa ǁîna a ǃgomǀgausabana nî ǃgam.”
Kēbo-aob ge Israeli xa ra ǃhoa
17 Tita ra ǃoaba Elob ge ǁîna nî ǂhara, ǁnâuǀnamoǃnân a amaga; ǁîn ge ǀnarema rase ǁaedi ǃnâ nî ī.
