何西阿書 12
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
12 「以法蓮以風為食，
整天追逐東風，
虛謊和暴力日益增多；
他跟亞述結盟，
向埃及進貢橄欖油。」
2 耶和華指控猶大；
要按雅各所行的懲罰他，
照雅各所做的報應他。
3 雅各在母胎之中曾抓住哥哥的腳跟，
壯年之時曾跟上帝角力。
4 他跟天使角力得勝，
向天使哭求福分。
他在伯特利遇見祂，
在那裡與祂說話——
5 就是萬軍之上帝耶和華，
耶和華是祂的名。
6 所以，你們要歸向你們的上帝，
持守仁愛和公義，常常等候祂。
7 以法蓮是個不誠實的商人，
手裡拿著騙人的秤，喜歡壓榨人。
8 以法蓮說：「我發財了，
我依靠自己致富。
沒有人能從我的勞碌中找出過錯和罪惡。」
9 耶和華說：
「從你們在埃及的時候，
我就是你們的上帝耶和華。
我要使你們再次住在帳篷裡，
就像從前守節期時一樣。
10 我曾對先知講話，賜給他們許多異象，
藉他們用比喻警告你們。」
11 基列人充滿罪惡，終必滅亡。
他們在吉甲用公牛獻祭，
他們的祭壇像田間犁溝裡的石堆。
12 雅各曾逃往亞蘭，
以色列在那裡為娶妻而服侍人，
為得到妻子而替人牧羊。
13 耶和華藉著先知帶領以色列離開埃及，
也藉著先知保護他。
14 但以法蓮卻極大地觸怒耶和華，
所以他的主要讓他血債血還，
以羞辱還羞辱。
Hosea 12
EasyEnglish Bible
12 Ephraim's people chase after useless things all the time.
They think that they can catch the wind that comes from the east!
But the result is more violence and lies.
They make an agreement with Assyria to get their help.
They also send their olive oil to Egypt to ask for their help.[a]
2 The Lord is ready to accuse Judah's people in a court of law.
He will punish Jacob's descendants for the bad way that they live.
He will punish them as their sins deserve.
3 Before Jacob was born, he cheated his brother.
He did that when they were both inside their mother's body.[b]
When Jacob became a man, he fought against God.
4 He fought against an angel and he won.
He wept and he asked God to bless him.
There at Bethel, Jacob met with God. God spoke to him there.
5 This was the Lord God Almighty!
We know him as the Lord, his special name.
6 So now, you must return to your God.
You must show faithful love for each other.
You must judge people in a fair way.
You must be patient. Trust God to come and help you.
7 Your traders love to cheat people.
They use false weights and measures.
8 Ephraim's people proudly say,
‘We are rich! We have become very rich!
In all the ways that we have found riches,
nobody can accuse us.
We have not really done anything that is a sin!’
9 God says,
‘Remember that I am the Lord your God!
I brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves.
Now I will make you live in tents again,
as you did before, in the wilderness.
10 I gave my messages to the prophets.
I showed them many visions.[c]
I used stories for the prophets to teach the people about me.
11 The people in Gilead do wicked things.[d]
They will become as useless as their idols.
At Gilgal, the people offer bulls as sacrifices on their altars.
Those altars will be like heaps of stones in a farmer's field.’
12 Jacob ran away to the land of Aram.[e]
He worked there as a shepherd so that he could get a wife.
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
He used a prophet to keep them safe in the wilderness.
14 But Ephraim's people have made the Lord very angry.
He will punish them with death for their terrible sins.
Their Lord will pay them back as they deserve,
because they have insulted him.
Footnotes
- 12:1 The Israelites wanted other nations to help them to be safe from their enemies. They should have trusted God to keep them safe. The wind is something that you can never catch. See Ecclesiastes 1:6,14.
- 12:3 At birth, Jacob held on to his brother Esau's foot. See Genesis 25:21-26.
- 12:10 A vision is like a dream but you might not be asleep.
- 12:11 Hosea is perhaps thinking about murders in Gilead. See Hosea 6:8. They also worshipped idols.
- 12:12 Jacob ran away from his brother Esau. He had cheated Esau and Esau was very angry with him.
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