Hosea 4

God’s Controversy with Israel

¹Listen to the word of the Lord , you sons of Israel,

Because the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,

For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty,

Nor knowledge of God in the land.

²There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery.[#4:2 I.e., of truth]

They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³Therefore the land mourns,

And everyone who lives in it languishes

Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky,

And even the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴¶Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke;[#4:4 Lit contend]

For your people are like those who contend with a priest.

⁵So you will stumble by day,

And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;

And I will destroy your mother.

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Since you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being My priest.

Since you have forgotten the Law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

⁷¶The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;

I will change their glory into shame.

⁸They feed on the sin of My people,[#4:8 Or sin offering]

And long for their wrongdoing.

⁹And it will be, like people, like priest;

So I will punish them for their ways

And repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat, but not have enough;

They will play the prostitute, but not increase,

Because they gave up devoting themselves to the Lord .

¹¹¶Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.[#4:11 Or Prostitution; #4:11 Lit heart]

¹²My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;

For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray,

And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God.

¹³They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains

And burn incense on the hills,

Under oak, poplar, and terebinth,

Because their shade is pleasant.

Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,

And your brides commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,

Or your brides when they commit adultery,

Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes

And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;

So the people without understanding are ruined.

¹⁵¶Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,

Judah must not become guilty;

Also you are not to go to Gilgal,

Nor go up to Beth-aven

And take the oath:

“As the Lord lives!”

¹⁶Since Israel is stubborn

Like a stubborn cow,

Will the Lord now pasture them

Like a lamb in a large field?

¹⁷Ephraim is allied with idols;

Leave him alone.

¹⁸Their liquor is gone,

They prostitute themselves continually;

Their rulers dearly love shame.

¹⁹The wind wraps them in its wings,

And they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.