1 Iziraela wakabe enga nzhambi wakapasula,
unozwala zhambi dzawo.
Mitjelo iye yakati iwanda
kawatsha zwibeso zwizwe zwe zwibhayilo
se shango iye yakabe ibhudilila
kanakisa zwifano zwizwe zwe mabgwe.
2 Moyo wabo uzhele kutjebela,
ndizo wali bakafanila kusengana ne nlandu wabo.
Yahwe banowokolomodza zwibeso zwabo
bakabuya bakakolomodza zwifano zwabo.
3 Ipapo banowoti, “Atina mambo
ngoti takalengudza Yahwe.
Koga ne tabe tina mambo
wabe wootishingilani?”
4 Banoleba matama asina nshingo,
bebe betuna manyepkhwa
bethama zwidumano,
ikoku kube kudana kusumikilisana kunozha
se madishwa mabiibi mu ngolo dze nnda.
5 Bagali be nzi we Samariya banotja,
betjila pholombe ye Bheti Aveni.
Bathu bawo banowoyililila
ne bapirisiti bawo banonamata zwifano banowolilila
gudzo layo labasiya.
6 Ifano nge kwatjo tjowosengegwa ku Asiriya,
tjili tjipo kuna mambo nkulu.
Ifureimi unowobhakhwa nge shoni,
Iziraela unowobhatigwa nge shoni zwifano zwakabezhiwa.
7 Mambo we Samariya inowokolomodziwa,
unowonga gwati lakaangama mu vula.
8 Manamatilo a pezhugwi e Aveni, tjibi tje Iziraela
tjowokolomogwa.
Mihwa ne zwikungubo zowomela
pezhugwi kwe zwibeso zwabo zwe zwibhayilo.
Ipapo banowodwa matombo bakati, “Mutizwimbe!”
Bebe bedwa matuthu beti, “Mutiwile!”
9 Kwetjinga kwe mazhuba e Gibiya wakatjinya iwe Iziraela,
makalambilako.
Apa ngwa ayitowo mukulila mu Gibiya?
10 Pandingada ndowobaloba,
njudzi dzowobakubunganila kugwa nabo
kubasungila zwibi zwabo zwapaphidzika kabili.
11 Ifureimi wakabe ali pholombe yakatebamiswa
yakabe ida kushokola,
ndakatjengeta ntshibha uwe wakanaka
koga ndowothama kuti Ifureimi atshindunule pasi,
Juda wakafanila lima,
Jakubo wakafanila kulima.
12 Muzwidzwaligwe ndulamo,
muvune ludo gusingapele,
tshindunulani pasi pasathu pakaling'wa
ngoti tjibaka tje kushaka Yahwe
kuti bazhe banise ndulamo pezhugwi kwenyu.
13 Makalima mukadzwala mbipo,
mukaivuna mbipo,
muja ntjelo we kutjebela.
Se makabiga mu masimba enyu
ne mu bunji gwe babhayani benyu.
14 Ndizo phipiti ye ngwa inowonginilila bathu benyu,
kunowothama kuti matizhilo enyu wose akolomogwe
Shalimani sekwa akathukudza Bhetiarubhele mu zhuba le ngwa
bomme pabakapkhwanyigwa pasi ne bana babo.
15 Ndiko sekwa kunowokushingikalila iwe Bhetele,
kuyikhwa nge bubi gugo.
Zhuba ilelo lowoti linoshwa
mambo we Iziraela unowobe abulawa.
1 The people of Israel were like a grapevine that was full of grapes. The more prosperous they were, the more altars they built. The more productive their land was, the more beautiful they made the sacred stone pillars they worship. 2 The people whose hearts are deceitful must now suffer for their sins. God will break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars.
3 These people will soon be saying, “We have no king because we did not fear the Lord. But what could a king do for us anyway?” 4 They utter empty words and make false promises and useless treaties. Justice has become injustice, growing like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in the city of Samaria will be afraid and will mourn the loss of the gold bull at Bethaven. They and the priests who serve the idol will weep over it. They will wail when it is stripped of its golden splendor. 6 The idol will be carried off to Assyria as tribute to the great emperor. The people of Israel will be disgraced and put to shame because of the advice they followed. 7 Their king will be carried off, like a chip of wood on water. 8 The hilltop shrines of Aven, where the people of Israel worship idols, will be destroyed. Thorns and weeds will grow up over their altars. The people will call out to the mountains, “Hide us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”
The Lord Pronounces Judgment on Israel
9 The Lord says, “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah. So at Gibeah war will catch up with them. 10 I will attack this sinful people and punish them. Nations will join together against them, and they will be punished for their many sins.
11 “Israel was once like a well-trained young cow, ready and willing to thresh grain. But I decided to put a yoke on her beautiful neck and to harness her for harder work. I made Judah pull the plow and Israel pull the harrow. 12 I said, ‘Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord, and I will come and pour out blessings upon you.’ 13 But instead you planted evil and reaped its harvest. You have eaten the fruit produced by your lies.
“Because you trusted in your chariots and in the large number of your soldiers, 14 war will come to your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed. It will be like the day when King Shalman destroyed the city of Betharbel in battle, and mothers and their children were crushed to death. 15 That is what will happen to you, people of Bethel, because of the terrible evil that you have done. As soon as the battle begins, the king of Israel will die.”