Hosea 4

The Charge Against Israel

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,

because the Lord has a charge^a to bring

against you who live in the land:^b

“There is no faithfulness,^c no love,

no acknowledgment^d of God in the land.^e

There is only cursing, lying^f and murder,^g

stealing^h and adultery;ⁱ

they break all bounds,

and bloodshed follows bloodshed.^j

Because of this the land dries up,^k

and all who live in it waste away;^l

the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea are swept away.^m

“But let no one bring a charge,

let no one accuse another,

for your people are like those

who bring charges against a priest.ⁿ

You stumble^o day and night,

and the prophets stumble with you.

So I will destroy your mother^p—

my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^q

“Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law^r of your God,

I also will ignore your children.

The more the priests increased,

the more they sinned against me;

they exchanged their glorious God^s for something disgraceful.^t

They feed on the sins of my people

and relish their wickedness.^u

And it will be: Like people, like priests.^v

I will punish both of them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.^w

“They will eat but not have enough;^x

they will engage in prostitution^y but not increase,

because they have deserted^z the Lord

to give themselves to prostitution;^a

old wine^b and new wine

take away their understanding.^c

My people consult a wooden idol^d

and are answered by a stick of wood.^e

A spirit of prostitution^f leads them astray;^g

they are unfaithful^h to their God.

They sacrifice on the mountaintops

and burn offerings on the hills,

under oak,ⁱ poplar and terebinth,

where the shade is pleasant.^j

Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^k

and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^l

“I will not punish your daughters

when they turn to prostitution,

nor your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery,

because the men themselves consort with harlots^m

and sacrifice with shrine prostitutesⁿ—

a people without understanding^o will come to ruin!^p

“Though you, Israel, commit adultery,

do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^q

do not go up to Beth Aven.^r

And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’^s

The Israelites are stubborn,^t

like a stubborn heifer.^u

How then can the Lord pasture them

like lambs^v in a meadow?

Ephraim is joined to idols;

leave him alone!

Even when their drinks are gone,

they continue their prostitution;

their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

A whirlwind^w will sweep them away,

and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^x