Mambo Hosheya we Iziraela
1 Mu gole le bugumi lina mabili le mbuso wa Ahazi mambo we Juda, Hosheya nkololo wa Ela katangisa kubusa Iziraela mu Samariya, ngono kabusa makole ali zhanalume. 2 Kathama mbipo mu mesho a Yahwe koga kusi sa bomambo be Iziraela bakabusa mbeli kukwe.
3 Shalimanesa mambo we Asiriya kazha kuwonginilila, ngono Hosheya kanthigamila kandusila likhetho. 4 Ngono mambo we Asiriya kabona bupitipiti muna Hosheya ngobe wakabe atuma batumwa kuna So, mambo we Egipiti ngono kasitjaduse likhetho kuna mambo we Asiriya, sekwaakabe ethama gole nge gole. Ndizowali Shalimanesa kambhata kanlonga mu ng'umba ye busungwa.
Kuwa kwe Samariya
5 Mambo we Asiriya kamilika kanginilila shango yose, kakomba Samariya nge ngwa kwe makole matatu. 6 Mu gole le buzhanalume le mbuso wa Hosheya, mambo we Asiriya katapa Samariya ngono kasengela Baiziraela ku Asiriya mu busungwa. Ngono kabagadza mu Hala ne mu Habori gwizi gwe Gozani ne mu mizi mikulu ye Mediya. 7 Kose ikoku kwakashingikala ngobe Baiziraela bakabe batjinyila Yahwe Ndzimu wabo, iye wakabadusa mu shango ye Egipiti pasi kwe simba la Faro mambo we Egipiti, bakanamata midzimu ipoga 8 ngono bakatobela mipanga ye njudzi dzakatatiwa ndi Yahwe mbeli kwe Baiziraela, bakatobela mipanga ya bomambo be Iziraela. 9 Bathu be Iziraela bakathamila zwithu mu ikowa zwisakalulwama kuna Yahwe Ndzimu wabo. Bakazwibakila magalo akatuthumala e zwibhayilo mu mizi yabo yose mikulu, kudwa mu mizi ina thungamakole kunoti ku mizi ye matizhilo. 10 Bakazwibigila mabgwe e pano namatigwa ne mapango e ndzimukadzi Ashera mu duthu limwe ne limwe na kusi kwe nti mmwe ne mmwe ntala, 11 ngono bakapisila motsha mu magalo wose akatuthumala sekwakathama njudzi dzakatatiwa ndi Yahwe mbeli kwabo. Bakathama zwithu zwakabipa zwakalonga Yahwe bushongola. 12 Bakanamata midzimu yakabezhiwa nenguba Yahwe bakabe bati, “Musithame ikoku.” 13 Yahwe bakabe batjemela Iziraela ne Juda nge balebesambeli bose ne nge baboni bose beti, “Shandukilani zila dzenyu dzakabipa ngono mu bhate milayo yangu kuyendidzana nge nlayo wose wandakapa botate benyu na iwo wandakamupa nge balanda bangu balebesambeli.” 14 Koga bakasiteedze ngono bakabe nge misholo yakasima sa botate babo bakabe basingagalemoyo muna Yahwe Ndzimu wabo. 15 Bakalamba ndaulo dzabo ne tjidumano tja wakabe wathama na botate babo na sekwawakabe wa tjemela. Bakatobela midzimu ye manyepkhwa bakasala basi bathu betjimwe, bakatobela njudzi dzakabe dzakabapoteleka nenguba Yahwe bakabe bababudza kuti basithame sekwadzinothama. 16 Ngono bakasiya milayo yose ya Yahwe Ndzimu wabo, bakazwithamila phulu mbili dzakabumbiwa ngono bakathama ifano tja Ashera bakathigamila mibunga yose ye kudzimu ngono bakashingila Bhaale. 17 Bakapisa bakololo babo ne bakololokadzi babo kuli zwibhayilo, bakashingisa bemasalamusi ne ng'anga, bakazwipa mu kuthama mbipo mu mesho a Yahwe, bebalonga bushongola. 18 Ndizo Yahwe bakazhala bushongola ngekwe Iziraela ngono bakabadusa pa mesho abo, akuna wakasala kuzhe kwe ludzi gwa Juda koga. 19 Ngono Bajuta nayibobo bakasi bhate milayo ya Yahwe Ndzimu wabo, koga bakatobela zila dze Baiziraela. 20 Ngono Yahwe bakalasha ludzi gose gwe Iziraela, bakabaloba shamu ngono bakabalonga mu maboko e batapi kuswikila babadusa pa mesho abo. 21 Kwakati Yahwe badusa Baiziraela mu ng'umba ya Dafite, Baiziraela bakabiga Jeroboamu nkololo wa Nebati kube mambo. Ngono Jeroboamu kakwebela Baiziraela kule na Yahwe, ngono kabathamisa tjibi tjikulu kwazo. 22 Bathu be Iziraela bakatobela zwibi zose zwakathamwa ndi Jeroboamu, bakasithubakane nazo, 23 kuswikila Yahwe badusa Baiziraela mu mesho abo sekwa bakaleba nge balanda babo balebesambeli. Ndizo Baiziraela bakadusiwa mu shango yabo bakagala mu busungwa ku Asiriya kuswikila nasi.
Baasiriya banogala mu Iziraela
24 Mambo we Asiriya kazhisa bathu banodwa ku Bhabhiloni ne Khuta ne Ava ne Hamati ne Sefarivaimu ngono kababiga mu mizi ye Samariya mu bumo gwe Baiziraela. Bakatola Samariya bakagala mu mizi yayo. 25 Ngono mu kutangisa kugala kwabo ikoko bakasitje Yahwe, ndizo Yahwe bakatumila shumba mubali dzikabulaya bamwe babo. 26 Kukanobudziwa mambo we Asiriya kuyi, “Zwitjaba zwamakatola munobiga ku mizi ye Samariya azwitoziba nlayo we Ndzimu we shango, ndizo watumila shumba mubali ngono dzobabulaya ngobe basingazibe nlayo we Ndzimu we shango.” 27 Ngono mambo we Asiriya kabadwa eti, “Tumilani mmwe we bapirisiti wamakasunga kudwa ku Samariya kuti abgwilile anogala ikweno ngono adiye bathu nlayo we Ndzimu we shango.” 28 Ndizo mmwe we bapirisiti wabakatola ku Samariya kazha kagala mu Bhetele, ngono kabadiya kuti banamate Yahwe tjini. 29 Koga itjaba tjimwe ne tjimwe tjikazwithamila ndzimu watjo mu mizi yabakabe begala, ngono bakayibiga mu magalo akatuthumala e zwibhayilo akabe athamiwa nge Basamariya. 30 Balume be Bhabhiloni bakathama ifano tja Sukotibhenoti, balume be Khuti bakathama tja Nagali, balume be Hamati bakathama tja Ashima, 31 ngono Baavi bakathama tja Nibhazi na Taritaki, ngono Basefavaimu bakapisila Adirameleki na Anameleki midzimu yabo bana babo mu moto. 32 Bakanamata Yahwe, koga naibobo bakazwibigila bapirisiti babo mu magalo akatuthumala e zwibhayilo, bakabe bedusa zwibhayilo mu bumo gwabo mu magalo akatuthumala. 33 Bakanamata Yahwe, koga bakashingila midzimu yabo kuyendidzana nge mipanga ye njudzi dzabakadwa ku dzili. 34 Kuswikila nasi batjathama mazwibhato abo a ntolo. Abato namata Yahwe kene kuli ku tobela milayo ya Yahwe yabakapa bana ba Jakubo iye wabakadana Iziraela. 35 Yahwe bakathama tjidumano nabo ngono bakabadwa bakati, “Musitongo namata midzimu ipoga kene kuli kuyithigamila kene kuyishingila kene kuyidusila zwibhayilo. 36 Koga munamate Yahwe, ibo bakamudusa mu shango ye Egipiti nge simba gulu ne nge luboko gwabo gwakatambunidziwa, mu thigamile ibo ngono mu badusile zwibhayilo. 37 Mube ne njele ku londolodza milayo yabo yabakamukwalila. Musinamate midzimu ipoga. 38 Musikangang'we tjidumano tjandakathama namwi ngono musithigamile midzimu ipoga. 39 Koga munamate Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu, ngono banowomusunungula mu luboko gwe zwita zwenyu zose.” 40 Koga bakasiteedze ngono bakadwilila nge mipanga yabo ya ntolo. 41 Zwitjaba izwezo zwikathigamila Yahwe ngono kakale beshingila midzimu yabo. Nanasi bana babo ne bana be bana babo banothama sa botate babo.
King Hoshea of Israel
1 Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in the twelfth year of Ahaz's rule in Judah, and he ruled nine years from Samaria. 2 Hoshea disobeyed the Lord and sinned, but not as much as the earlier Israelite kings had done.
3 During Hoshea's rule, King Shalmaneser of Assyria invaded Israel; he took control of the country and made Hoshea pay taxes. 4 But later, Hoshea refused to pay the taxes and asked King So of Egypt to help him rebel. When Shalmaneser found out, he arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.
Samaria Is Destroyed and the Israelites Are Taken to Assyria
5 Shalmaneser invaded Israel and attacked the city of Samaria for three years, 6 before capturing it in the ninth year of Hoshea's rule. The Assyrian king took the Israelites away to Assyria as prisoners. He forced some of them to live in the town of Halah, others to live near the Habor River in the territory of Gozan, and still others to live in towns where the Median people lived.
7 All of this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had rescued them from Egypt, where they had been slaves. They worshiped foreign gods, 8 followed the customs of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel, and were just as sinful as the Israelite kings. 9 Even worse, the Israelites tried to hide their sins from the Lord their God. They built their own local shrines everywhere in Israel—from small towns to large, walled cities. 10 They also built stone images of foreign gods and set up sacred poles for the worship of Asherah on every hill and under every shady tree. 11 They offered sacrifices at the shrines, just as the foreign nations had done before the Lord forced them out of Israel. They did sinful things that made the Lord very angry.
12 Even though the Lord had commanded the Israelites not to worship idols, they did it anyway. 13 So the Lord made sure that every prophet warned Israel and Judah with these words: “I, the Lord, command you to stop doing sinful things and start obeying my laws and teachings! I gave them to your ancestors, and I told my servants the prophets to repeat them to you.”
14 But the Israelites would not listen; they were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to worship the Lord their God. 15 They ignored the Lord's warnings and commands, and they rejected the solemn agreement he had made with their ancestors. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves. The Lord had told the Israelites not to do the things that the foreign nations around them were doing, but Israel became just like them.
16 The people of Israel disobeyed all the commands of the Lord their God. They made two gold statues of calves and set up a sacred pole for Asherah; they also worshiped the stars and the god Baal. 17 They used magic and witchcraft and even sacrificed their own children. The Israelites were determined to do whatever the Lord hated. 18 The Lord became so furious with the people of Israel that he allowed them to be carried away as prisoners.
Only the people living in Judah were left, 19 but they also disobeyed the Lord's commands and acted like the Israelites. 20 So the Lord turned his back on everyone in Israel and let them be punished and defeated until no one was left.
21 Earlier, when the Lord took the northern tribes away from David's family, the people living in northern Israel chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. Jeroboam caused the Israelites to sin and to stop worshiping the Lord. 22 The people kept on sinning like Jeroboam, 23 until the Lord got rid of them, just as he had warned his servants the prophets.
That's why the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners to Assyria, and that's where they remained.
Foreigners Are Resettled in Israel
24 The king of Assyria took people who were living in the cities of Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and forced them to move to Israel. They took over the towns where the Israelites had lived, including the capital city of Samaria.
25 At first these people did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions to attack them, and the lions killed some of them. 26 A messenger told the king of Assyria, “The people you moved to Israel don't know how to worship the god of that country. So he sent lions that have attacked and killed some of them.”
27 The king replied, “Get one of the Israelite priests we brought here and send him back to Israel. He can live there and teach them about the god of that country.” 28 One of the Israelite priests was chosen to go back to Israel. He lived in Bethel and taught the people how to worship the Lord.
29 But in towns all over Israel, the different groups of people made statues of their own gods, then they placed these idols in local Israelite shrines. 30 The people from Babylonia made the god Succoth-Benoth; those from Cuthah made the god Nergal; those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 those from Avva made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the people from Sepharvaim sacrificed their children to their own gods Adrammelech and Anammelech. 32-33 They worshiped their own gods, just as they had before they were taken away to Israel. They also worshiped the Lord, but they chose their own people to be priests at the shrines. 34 Everyone followed their old customs. None of them worshiped only the Lord, and they refused to obey the laws and commands that the Lord had given to the descendants of Jacob, the man he named Israel. 35 At the time when the Lord had made his solemn agreement with the people of Israel, he told them:
Do not worship any other gods! Do not bow down to them or offer them a sacrifice. 36 Worship only me! I am the one who rescued you from Egypt with my mighty power. Bow down to me and offer sacrifices. 37 Never worship any other god, always obey my laws and teachings, 38 and remember the solemn agreement between us.
I will say it again: Do not worship any god 39 except me. I am the Lord your God, and I will rescue you from all your enemies.
40 But the people living in Israel ignored that command and kept on following their old customs. 41 They did worship the Lord, but they also worshiped their own idols. Their descendants did the same thing.