Kalunga ta sile Israel oshimpwiyu
1 Omuwa okwa lombwele ndje, 2 ndi ka uvithile aantu ayehe muJerusalem kutya Omuwa ota ti ngeyi:
“Otandi dhimbulukwa eopalo lyuugundjuka woye,
ohole yoye momasiku guufuko woye,
nkene wa landula ndje mombuga,
montale moka ihaamu kunwa.
3 Israel, ngoye ogwandjelela,
ngoye eliko lyandje eyapuki.
Ayehe mboka ye ku ningi nayi,
oyi ipetha ombedhi noya adhika koshiponga.
Ongame, Omuwa, nda popi.”
Okuyona kwoohekulu yaIsrael
4 Uveni oohapu dhOmuwa, ne oluvalo lwaJakob, ne omazimo agehe gaIsrael.
5 Omuwa ota ti:
“Oohokulu oya mwene ndje ombedhi yashike?
Oshike she ya pilamenitha ndje?
Oya ka simaneka iimenka yaa na omwago,
noyo yene ya ningi aanima yowala.
6 Inaa kala ye na ko nasha nangame,
nando onde ya hupitha muEgipiti
nonde ya pandakanitha ombuga,
eha lyoontale nolyomakolombongo,
evi lya kalanda lya nika iiponga,
moka mwaa na nando olye,
nokaku na ngoka he li tokola ando.
7 Onde ya eta mevi lyo ondoka,
opo ya nyanyukilwe eteyo lyalyo nuuwanawa walyo wulwe.
Ihe oya shundula evi lyandje
noya nyateke oshilongo nde shi ya pe.
8 Aayambi inaa pula ya tye: ‘Omuwa oku li peni?’
Aayambi yandje mwene oya ningi kaaye shi ndje.
Aaleli oya tsu ondumbo nangame;
aahunganeki oyu uvitha medhina lyaBaal
noya longele iimenka yaa na omwago.”
Omuwa ta tamaneke aantu ye
9 “Onkee ano ngame Omuwa
tandi tamaneke aantu yandje,
notandi ka tamaneka aatekulu yawo.
10 Indeni kuuninginino kontuntu Kipro,
ne mu tume yamwe lwokuuzilo koshilongo Kedar.
Otamu ka mona kutya
kaku na nando osha sha fa mbika sha ningilwe nale.
11 Kaku na oshigwana shilwe sha pingakanithile ookalunga yasho,
nando yo yene kaye shi ookalunga.
Ihe aantu yandje oya pingakanitha ndje po,
Kalunga ngoka e ya simanekitha.
Oya pingakanitha ndje naashoka kaashi na ekwatho.
12 Onda lombwele eyalelo, li tale nuugelele
noli kumwe tali zi omahwilili.
13 Oshoka aantu yandje oya yono paali:
Oya pilamene ndje, othithiya yomeya omanamwenyo,
noyi ihupile omithima dhawo yene,
omithima dhiipopo, ndhoka itaadhi vulu okukala nomeya.”
Uuhethi waIsrael
14 “Israel ke shi omupika;
ina valelwa nando omuupika.
Omolwashike ano a ningi oshihakanwa shaatondi?
15 Oye mu gonene ya fa oonime;
oya mbugaleke oshilongo she,
niilando ye oya kumunwa po.
Oya thigwa po owala.
16 Eeno, aalumentu yokuMemfis naTakpanhes
oya kunya omutse gwe gu ninge ongwala.
17 Israel, ongoye mwene we shi iyetele!
Owe etha ndje, Omuwa Kalunga koye,
sho nda li tandi ku enditha nondjila.
18 Omolwashike to yi kuEgipiti,
u ka nwe omeya gaNiili?
Omolwashike to yi kuAssur,
u ka nwe omeya gaEufrat?
19 Uuwinayi woye mwene otau ku pangula,
nokupilamena ndje kwoye otaku ku tokola.
Oto ka koneka, nkene sha puka noshilulululu,
sho we etha ndje, Omuwa Kalunga koye,
noino inekela ndje we nando.
Ongame, Omupangeliawike Omuwa Omunankondoawike, nda popi.”
Israel ta tindi okulongela Omuwa
20 Omuwa Omupangeliawike ota ti:
“Israel, owe ekelehi ndje nalenale;
owa tindi okuvulika kungame nokulongela ndje.
Owa longele iikalunga yoluvalo koondundu adhihe oondeendeka
nomomizile dhomiti adhihe omitalala.
21 Onde ku tsike ngaashi omuviinu gwa hogololwa,
ombuto ya hogololekeka.
Ihe tala utale, nkene wa tya!
Owa fa omuviinu gwaa na oshilonga nogwo ola.
22 Nando u iyoge nomeya gomutoko
nenge nothewa yekoha,
ondi wete natango oontongo dhoondjo dhoye.
23 Oto vulu ngiini okutya ino inyateka,
nokutya ino longela Baal?
Tala, nkene wa yono molusilu;
tala shoka wa ningi.
Owa fa ongamelo ongundjuka ya nikula,
notayi pwampwauka yu uka huka naahwiyaka,
24 tayi tondauka nombuga.
Ngele ya nikula, olye ta vulu oku yi pangela?
Ondumentu ndjoka ye yi hala,
itayi pumbwa okwiivulitha;
otayi monika nuupu pethimbo lyenikulo.
25 Israel, ino matuka, sigo oompadhi dhoye dha kala owala,
nomuligu gwoye tagu kukuta kokulandula iikalunga.
Ihe oto ti: ‘Aawe! Ite vulu okushuna.
Ondi hole iikalunga iikwiilongo notandi yi landula.’ ”
Israel okwi ilongele okugeelwa
26 Omuwa ota ti: “Aaisraeli ne, otamu ka sithwa ohoni ngashika omufuthi ngoka a adhikilila. Aakwaniilwa, omalenga, aayambi naahunganeki yeni otaa ka sithwa ohoni. 27 Amuhe mboka tamu ti, omuti ogwo ho nemanya olyo nyoko, otamu ka sithwa ohoni, oshoka omwa pilamene ndje peha lyokugalukila kungame. Ihe uuna tamu adhika kuudhigu, otamu ithana ndje ndi ye oku mu hupitha.
28 “Iikalunga mbyoka wi ihambulile, oyi li peni? Nayi ku hupithe, sho wa adhika kuudhigu — ngele otayi shi vulu! Juda, omwaalu gwiikalunga yoye ogu thike pamwe nomwaalu gwiilando yoye. 29 Oto tamananene shike? Omolwashike wa tsu ondumbo nangame? 30 Onde ku geele, ihe inashi eta uuwanawa. Ino pitika, ndi ku tule mondjila. Aahunganeki yoye owe ya dhipaga wa fa onime ya pindjala. 31 Aaisraeli ne, pulakeneni shoka tandi popi. Kune ano onda fa ombuga, onda fa oshilongo shomilema shi na iiponga? Omolwashike ano tamu ti, otamu ningi shoka mwa hala noitamu galukile we kungame? 32 Omukadhona oha dhimbwa tuu uulenga we nomufuko ofeyi ye? Ihe aantu yandje oya dhimbwa ndje omasiku ogendji gaa shi kuyalulwa. 33 Ku na uudhigu washa okumona ondjila, ngele oto kongo aaholi yiipala. Eeno, nuuwinayi womukiintu otau konekwa mungoye. 34 Oonguwo dhoye odha nyata kombinzi yoohepele naakaanandjo, hakombinzi yaakolokoshi.
“Onkene tuu 35 oto ti: ‘Kandi na ondjo; oshili, Omuwa ina geela ndje.’ Ihe ngame, Omuwa, otandi ke ku geela, molwashoka wa tindi okuzimina kutya ou na ondjo. 36 Owi iningi gwowala, sho wi igameke kiikalunga yiigwana yilwe. Oto ka sithwa ohoni kuEgipiti, naanaa ngaashi wa ningilwe kuAssur. 37 Naankoka oto ka za ko wi ikwata ombandamutse, molwashoka Omuwa okwe ekelehi mboka wa li wi inekela, noito ka kwathwa kuyo.”
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.”
