Hosea 4

¹Sones of Israel, here ye the word of the Lord, for whi doom is to the Lord with the dwelleris of erthe; for whi trewthe is not, and merci is not, and kunnyng of the Lord is not in erthe.

²Curs, and leesyng, and manquelling, and thefte, and auowtrie flowiden, and blood touchide blood.

³For this thing the erthe schal mourne, and ech that dwellith in that lond, schal be sijk, in the beeste of the feeld, and in the brid of the eir; but also the fischis of the see schulen be gaderid togidere.

⁴Netheles ech man deme not, and a man be not repreuyd; for thi puple is as thei that ayen seien the prest.

⁵And thou schalt falle to dai, and the profete also schal falle with thee; in the niyt Y made thi modir to be stille.

⁶My puple was stille, for it hadde not kunnyng; for thou hast putte awei kunnyng, Y schal putte thee awei, that thou vse not presthod to me; and for thou hast foryete the lawe of thi God, also Y schal foryete thi sones.

⁷Bi the multitude of hem, so thei synneden ayens me. Y schal chaunge the glorie of hem in to schenschipe.

⁸Thei schulen ete the synnes of my puple, and thei schulen reise the soulis of hem to the wickidnesse of hem.

⁹And it schal be, as the puple so the prest; and Y schal visite on hym the weies of hym, and Y schal yelde to him the thouytis of hym.

¹⁰And thei schulen ete, and thei schulen not be fillid; thei diden fornicacioun, and ceessiden not, for thei forsoken the Lord in not kepynge.

¹¹Fornycacioun, and wiyn, and drunkenesse doen awei the herte.

¹²My puple axide in his tre, and the staf therof telde to it; for the spirit of fornicacioun disseyuede hem, and thei diden fornicacioun fro her God.

¹³On the heedis of mounteyns thei maden sacrifice, and on the litil hillis thei brenten encense vndur an ook, and a popeler, and terebynte, for the schadewe therof was good. Therfor youre douytris schulen do fornicacioun, and youre wyues schulen be auoutressis.

¹⁴Y schal not visite on youre douytris, whanne thei don fornicacioun, and on youre wyues, whanne thei doon auowtrie; for thei lyuyden with hooris, and maden sacrifice with men turned in to wymmens condiciouns. And the puple that vndirstondith not, schal be betun.

¹⁵If thou, Israel, doist fornicacioun, nameli Juda trespasse not; and nyle ye entre in to Galgala, and stie ye not in to Bethauen, nether swere ye, The Lord lyueth.

¹⁶For as a wielde cow Israel bowide awei; now the Lord schal fede hem as a lomb in broodnesse.

¹⁷Effraym is the partener of idols, leeue thou him;

¹⁸the feeste of hem is departid. Bi fornicacioun thei diden fornicacioun, the defenders therof louyden to brynge schenschipe.

¹⁹The spirit boond hym in hise wyngis, and thei schulen be schent of her 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.