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.”
Israel ta handukilwa kuKalunga
1 Ndele ame onda hangika kondjovo ei yOmwene: 2 Inda u ka udifile momatwi aJerusalem u tye: Omwene ota ti ngaha:
“Ame onda dimbulukwa ouwa wounyasha woye, nohole yoye, fimbo wa li omufuko omupe, eshi wa shikula nge mombuwa ihamu mene nande sha. 3 Israel okwa li a yapulilwa Omwene, oshiveli shoilikolwa yaye aishe; keshe ou te shi li, ote ke lyeetela etimba, oshiponga tashi ke mu hanga, Omwene ta ti.”
4 Udeni ondjovo yOmwene, onye eumbo laJakob, onye amushe omapata eumbo laIsrael! 5 Omwene ota ti ngaha:
Ooxokulu ova mona owii washike mwaame, eshi ve liteeka nge va ya kokule, ndele va shikula oikalunga yongaho ndele voovene va ninga vongaho? 6 Ndele vo inava tya: Omwene oku li peni, ou e tu tembula muEgipiti nokwe tu endifa mombuwa, medu la mbwalangadja nolomakololo, medu lomanota nolomudidimbe wefyo, edu ihali endwa nande okomunhu, ndele kape na nomunhu ta kala mo? 7 Ndele Ame onde mu eta medu eli loikunino mu lye oiimati nounyenye wayo. Ndelenee nye eshi mwe uya mo mwa nyateka edu lange nefyuululo lange mwe li ninga oixuna. 8 Ovapristeli inava pula: Omwene oku li peni? Novayukifi vomhango inava shiiva nge; novafita ove liteeka nge, novaxunganeki ova xunganeka edina laBaal, ndele va shikula oinima kai na nande ekwafo. 9 Onghee hano natango nda hala oku mu hokololifa, Omwene osho ta ti, ndele handi ka hokolola noludalo lovatekulu veni. 10 Taulukeni hano, nye mu ka tale Ovakipro keenhunhu davo, tumeni ko kedu laKedar, nye mu didilike shili ngeenge oinima ya tya ngaha ya ningwa ko? 11 Ope na tuu oshiwana sha pingakanifa oikalunga yasho, nande kai fi Kalunga? Ndelenee ovanhu vange ova pingakanifa oshinge shavo noinima yongaho kai nekwafo. 12 Akutu omaulu nye, kuminweni oinima ei, nye mu haluke nokutumhauka omaxwilili, Omwene osho ta ti. 13 Osheshi ovanhu vange ova nyona pavali: Ove liteeka nge nande Aame ofifiya yomeva omwenyo, ndele vo ve lixupila omifima da tenda omifya, dihe shii okukala omeva.
14 “Israel omupika vati ile omudalelwa mo? Oshike she mu ningifa oshihakanwa? 15 Eenghoshi eenyasha ode mu kumbila, da ndundumika ondaka yado, ya kuwaana. Nedu laye ove li ninga ombuwa, noilando yavo oya xwikwa po, kai novanhu. 16 Novanhu vomuMemfis novomuTahpanhes yo ohava kulula omutwe woye ongwala. 17 Haave mwene we shi likongela, eshi wa efa Omwene Kalunga koye, omafiku enya eshi e ku endifa nondjila yaye? 18 Hano paife oto ka mona shike, eshi to i kuEgipiti u ka nwe omeva aNil? Ndele to ka mona shike eshi to i kuAsiria u ka nwe omeva omulonga waEufrat? 19 Owii woye mwene otau ku denge, nokuliteeka kwoye kudjuu otaku ku handukile. Hano, kala u shi shii nokumona oululu woshiponga shoye apa u fike, eshi wa efa Omwene Kalunga koye, ndele ino kala nokutila nge. Omwene osho ta ti, Omwene womatanga ovakwaita. 20 Osheshi ove owa teya ondjoko yoye mefimbo lonale, ndele wa tokola eestropa doye. Ndele wa tya: ‘Ame inandi hala okuyakula.’ Osheshi ngaashi ombwada ove wa nangala koikulundudu aishe ile nokoshi yoshixwa keshe shitalala. 21 Ame onde ku twika omuviinyu wa hoololwa onhwikelela. Ndelenee owa shitukila nge ngahelipi omuviinyu mwii womoixwa? 22 Hano nande ove u likoshife nofewa nomute muhapu, natango tuu oulunde woye tau kala ngaashi onyata koshipala shange, Omwene Kalunga ta ti. 23 Ove oto dulu ngahelipi okupopya to ti: ‘Ame inandi linyateka, nosho inandi shikula Baal?’ Litala eenghedi doye nhumbi wa kala mefilu, lipulapula nomwenyo woye, oilonga yoye, ove ongamelo yonghadi i nonhapo ihapu, nai tondauke nokutelaana. 24 Ofine yonghadi ya ikilila ombuwa, ya duka nokudikulila nokufudaana, olyelye ta dulu oku i dikululifa? Keshe ou e mu hala ke noudjuu, ohani yedikulo laye, opo tave mu hange opo. 25 Lungama shili omhadi yoye liha kane olukaku layo, nomunino woye uha fye enota! Ndelenee ove to ti: ‘Itashi kwafa sha, osheshi ame ondi hole ovanailongo, ndele handi ke va shikulila ko.’ 26 Ngaashi omulunga a kwatwa, ta fi ohoni, nosho yo eumbo laIsrael pamwe neehamba dalo nomalenga avo omakulunhu novapristeli novaxunganeki otava ka fifwa ohoni, 27 eshi tava lombwele oshiti: ‘Oove tate,’ ndele tava lombwele emanya: ‘Ove wa dala nge.’ Osheshi vo ova pa nge ombuda, hashipala. Ndelenee ngeenge tava hangika koshiponga, opo nee otava ifana nge tava ti: ‘Fikama, u tu kwafe!’ 28 Oikalunga yoye oi li peni, we i lihongela? Nava fikame, ngeenge otava dulu oku ku kwafa fiku to hangika koshiponga; osheshi ngaashi oilando yoye oi li ihapu, osho yo oikalunga yoye, akutu Juda. 29 Otamu twile nge shike eemhata? Onye amushe mwe liteeka nge. Omwene osho ta ti. 30 Ovana veni ovamati onde va dengela epwanga, osheshi inava dulika komakumaido ange. Omaongamukonda eni okwa lya ovaxunganeki ngaashi onghoshi tai li. 31 Akutu, oludalo nye, pwilikineni ondjovo yOmwene! Aame ombuwa kuIsrael vati, ile edu lomilaulu? Omolwashike hano ovanhu vange tava ti: ‘Fye hatu lipangele fye vene, itatu uya vali kwoove.’
32 “Okakadona otaka dimbwa ngeno omidjalo dako, nomufuko ekwamo laye? Ndelenee ovanhu vange ova dimbwa nge omafiku mahapu. 33 Heeno, owe lilongekidila shili ondjila yoye yokukonga oipala! Nosho ngaha wa kala nokwiikilila eendjila dowii. 34 Nomeenyemba doshikutu shoye omwa monika ohonde yovafyoona va dipawa inava nyona sha. Ove ino va hanga tava fe eumbo loye, ndelenee nande ngaha. 35 Ndele oto popi ndele to ti: ‘Ame nghi netimba. Ehandu laye ola pitilila nge po.’ Tala, ame onda hala oku ku hokololifa, osheshi ove oto ti: ‘Ame inandi nyona sha.’ 36 Ove oto tondokele shike, ndele to endelele okulundulula eendjila doye? MolwaEgipiti oto ka fifwa ohoni ngaashi wa fifwa ohoni molwaAsiria. 37 Naaku u li, ou nokudja ko u likwete ombadomutwe, osheshi Omwene ota ekeleshi ovo we va lineekela, ove ku na apa to mono elao pamwe navo.
