1 So call your fellow Israelites “God's People” and “Loved-by-the-Lord.”
Unfaithful Gomer—Unfaithful Israel
2 My children, plead with your mother—though she is no longer a wife to me, and I am no longer her husband. Plead with her to stop her adultery and prostitution. 3 If she does not, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will make her like a dry and barren land, and she will die of thirst. 4-5 I will not show mercy to her children; they are the children of a shameless prostitute. She herself said, “I will go to my lovers—they give me food and water, wool and linen, olive oil and wine.”
6 So I am going to fence her in with thorn bushes and build a wall to block her way. 7 She will run after her lovers but will not catch them. She will look for them but will not find them. Then she will say, “I am going back to my first husband—I was better off then than I am now.”
8 She would never acknowledge that I am the one who gave her the grain, the wine, the olive oil, and all the silver and gold that she used in the worship of Baal. 9 So at harvest time I will take back my gifts of grain and wine, and will take away the wool and the linen I gave her for clothing. 10 I will strip her naked in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to save her from my power. 11 I will put an end to all her festivities—her annual and monthly festivals and her Sabbath celebrations—all her religious meetings. 12 I will destroy her grapevines and her fig trees, which she said her lovers gave her for serving them. I will turn her vineyards and orchards into a wilderness; wild animals will destroy them. 13 I will punish her for the times that she forgot me, when she burned incense to Baal and put on her jewelry to go chasing after her lovers. The Lord has spoken.
The Lord's Love for His People
14 So I am going to take her into the desert again; there I will win her back with words of love. 15 I will give back to her the vineyards she had and make Trouble Valley a door of hope. She will respond to me there as she did when she was young, when she came from Egypt. 16 Then once again she will call me her husband—she will no longer call me her Baal. 17 I will never let her speak the name of Baal again.
18 At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and birds, so that they will not harm my people. I will also remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, and will let my people live in peace and safety.
19 Israel, I will make you my wife;
I will be true and faithful;
I will show you constant love and mercy
and make you mine forever.
20 I will keep my promise and make you mine,
and you will acknowledge me as Lord.
21-22 At that time I will answer the prayers of my people Israel.
I will make rain fall on the earth,
and the earth will produce grain and grapes and olives.
23 I will establish my people in the land and make them prosper.
I will show love to those who were called “Unloved,”
and to those who were called “Not-My-People”
I will say, “You are my people,”
and they will answer, “You are our God.”
Israel ta handukilwa ndee ta filwa onghenda
1 Ovamwaxo ovamati ifaneni: Ammi, nokutya Oshiwana shange, novamwanyoko oukadona: Ruhama, nokutya Omufilwanghenda!
2 Tweni eemhata nanyoko, heeno, tweni eemhata. Osheshi ye ke fi omwalikadi wange, naame yo nghi fi omulumenhu waye. Ye na fete koshipala shaye ohole yoipala nomavele aye koluhaelo, 3 opo ndihe mu dule a kale hamunghele, opo ndihe mu tule po ngaashi a li mefiku lokudalwa kwaye, ndele aha ningwe ngaashi ombuwa, heeno, ndihe mu ninge ngaashi edu la kukuta nondi mu efe a fyenota. 4 Ndele Ame ihandi ka filonghenda ovana vaye, osheshi ovo ovana va dalelwa moukumbu. 5 Osheshi ina yavo a kala ta haelwa nonaku va dala okwe lififa ohoni, osheshi ye a tile: “Nda hala okulambalala ovaholike vange ava, tava pe nge omungome wange nomeva ange, nolududi leedi nomundele wange nomaadi ange noikunwa yange.” 6 Onghee tala, ondjila yoye ohandi ke i fitikifa omano, ndele handi mu dingililifa ohotekuma opo ye aha mone eendjila daye. 7 Ndele ye ota ka lambalala ovaholike vaye, ndelenee ye ite va hange ko. Ndele ye ote va kongo, ndele ite va mono. Opo nee ye ota ka tya: “Ame nda hala okwaalukila komulumenhu wange wonale, osheshi okukala kwange kwomafiku enya kwa li ku dule kwopaife.” 8 Heeno, oye ina shiiva nokutya, Ame tuu ou nde mu pele oilya nomaviinyu nomaadi, nosho yo Ame nde mu hapupalifila oisiliveli noingoldo, ei ve i yambela Baal. 9 Onghee handi ka kufa mo vali oilya mefimbo layo nomaviinyu ange mefimbo la tokolwa, ndele handi vakula olududi leedi dange nomindele dange, nda li ndi noku di uvikilifa olutu laye lahamunghele. 10 Paife ohandi ka holola ohoni yaye moipafi yovaholike vaye, ndele kape na ou te mu xupifa meke lange. 11 Ndele Ame handi xulifa ehafo laye keshe: oivilo yaye, noivilo yaye yohani ipe nomashabata aye, heeno, nomafiku aye aeshe manene. 12 Ndele Ame ohandi ka hanauna po omiviinyu nomikwiyu daye, e di popya nokutya: odo ondjabi youmbwada wange, nde i pewa kovaholike vange. Ame ohandi ke di shitukifa ofuka di liwe koifitukuti yomofuka. 13 Osho ngaha handi mu handukilile omafiku ooBaal fimbo e di twiminina omatwiminoyambo, nokwe liwapeka noulinga vomeyulu noilanda vomofingo, ndele a lambalala ovaholike vaye, ndelenee ye a dimbwa nge, Omwene osho ta ti.
14 Onghee tala, ohandi ke mu heka, ndi mu twale mofuka ndi mu hekeleke momutima. 15 Okudja oko ohandi ke mu pa oikokola yomiviinyu daye, nefilu laAkor li ninge oshivilo sheteelelo, ndele ye ota ka dulika ngaashi nale pomafiku ounyasha waye nongaashi mefiku linya a dja medu laEgipiti. 16 Mefiku tuu eli, Omwene osho ta ti, ove oto ka ifana nge: Omulumenhu wange, ndele ito ifana nge vali: Baal yange. 17 Ame ohandi kufa mo omadina ooBaal mokanya kaye, opo omadina avo itaa tumbulwa vali.
18 Ndele mefiku olo ohandi ningi ehangano omolwavo noifitukuti yomofuka needila dokeulu noinamwenyo yopedu ei tai alangata; heeno, outa neongamukonda noita ohandi i kukifa moshilongo, ndele Ame handi va tulumukifa va kale nombili. 19 Ndele Ame handi ke ku valeka fiyo alushe, ndele ohandi ku valeke nouyuki nonetokolo nononghenda nonolukeno. 20 Ndele Ame ohandi ke ku valeka noudiinini, ndele ove oto ka shiiva Omwene. 21 Ndele mefiku tuu olo ohandi udu ko, Omwene osho ta ti, Ame ohandi ka uda eulu, ndele lo tali ka uda edu. 22 Ndele edu tali ka uda oilya nomaviinyu nomaadi, ndele yo otai ka uda Jisreel. 23 Ndele handi ke mu likuninina moshilongo, ndele handi filonghenda Lo-Ruhama, ndele handi lombwele Lo-Ammi: “Oove oshiwana shange.” Ndele ye ota itavele: “Kalunga kange.”
