Hosea 4

¹Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel! For Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; For there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

²Perjury, and falsehood, and murder, And theft, and adultery have broken forth, And blood reacheth to blood.

³Therefore shall the land mourn, And every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, Together with the beasts of the forest, and the birds of heaven; Yea, even the fishes of the sea shall perish.

⁴Yet let no man rebuke, and let no man reprove; For thy people are like those that contend with the priest,

⁵Therefore shalt thou Fall by day, And the prophet shall fall with thee by night, And I will destroy thy mother.

⁶My people is destroyed for lack of knowledge; Since thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, so that thou shalt no more be my priest; Since thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.

⁷As they have become great, so have they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.

⁸They feed upon the sins of my people, And incline their hearts to their iniquity.

⁹And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; I will punish them for their ways, And requite them for their doings.

¹⁰They shall eat and shall not be satisfied; They shall commit fornication, and shall not increase, For they have left off giving heed to Jehovah.

¹¹Fornication and wine and new wine take away the understanding;

¹²My people ask counsel of their stocks, And their staff revealeth to them. For the spirit of fornication causeth them to err; Yea, they commit fornication, forsaking their God.

¹³On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, And on the hills they burn incense, Under the oak, and the poplar, and the terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters commit fornication, And your daughters-in-law commit adultery;

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters, when they commit fornication, Nor your daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery; For ye yourselves go aside with harlots, And sacrifice with prostitutes; Therefore the people that hath not understanding shall fall.

¹⁵Though thou play the harlot, O Israel, Yet let not Judah offend! Come ye not to Gilgal, Neither go ye up to Bethaven. And swear ye not, saying, As Jehovah liveth!

¹⁶For like a refractory heifer is Israel become refractory, Therefore will Jehovah feed them, like a lamb in a wide place.

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone!

¹⁸When their carousal is over, They give themselves up to lasciviousness; Their rulers love shame.

¹⁹The wind hath bound them up with its wings, And they shall be brought to shame on account of their sacrifices.

Hosea 4

¹Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

²By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

³Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

⁴Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

⁵Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

⁷As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

⁸They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

⁹And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

¹⁰For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

¹¹Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

¹²My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

¹³They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

¹⁵Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth–aven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.

¹⁶For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

¹⁸Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

¹⁹The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.