Hosea 4

God’s Charge Against Israel

4Hear the word of the Lord,

You children of Israel,

For the Lord brings a ^acharge ¹against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy

Or ^bknowledge of God in the land.

²By swearing and lying,

Killing and stealing and committing adultery,

They break all restraint,

With bloodshed ²upon bloodshed.

³Therefore ^cthe land will mourn;

And ^deveryone who dwells there will waste away

With the beasts of the field

And the birds of the air;

Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

⁴“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;

For your people are like those ^ewho contend with the priest.

⁵Therefore you shall stumble ^fin the day;

The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;

And I will destroy your mother.

^6gMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

^hBecause you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

⁷“The more they increased,

The more they sinned against Me;

ⁱI ³will change ⁴their glory into shame.

⁸They eat up the sin of My people;

They set their ⁵heart on their iniquity.

⁹And it shall be: ^jlike people, like priest.

So I will punish them for their ways,

And ⁶reward them for their deeds.

¹⁰For ^kthey shall eat, but not have enough;

They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;

Because they have ceased obeying the Lord.

The Idolatry of Israel

¹¹“Harlotry, wine, and new wine ^lenslave the heart.

¹²My people ask counsel from their ^mwooden idols,

And their ⁷staff informs them.

For ⁿthe spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,

And they have played the harlot against their God.

^13oThey offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,

And burn incense on the hills,

Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,

Because their shade is good.

^pTherefore your daughters commit harlotry,

And your brides commit adultery.

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,

Nor your brides when they commit adultery;

For the men themselves go apart with harlots,

And offer sacrifices with a ^qritual harlot.

Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, play the harlot,

Let not Judah offend.

^rDo not come up to Gilgal,

Nor go up to ^sBeth ⁸Aven,

^tNor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—

¹⁶“For Israel ^uis stubborn

Like a stubborn calf;

Now the Lord will let them forage

Like a lamb in ⁹open country.

¹⁷“Ephraim is joined to idols,

^vLet him alone.

¹⁸Their drink ¹is rebellion,

They commit harlotry continually.

^wHer ²rulers ³dearly love dishonor.

^19xThe wind has wrapped her up in its wings,

And ^ythey shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.