Hosea 4

1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!

Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel, for the Lord shall enter into judgment with the inhabitants of the land: for there is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land.

2 Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood.

3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth in it shall languish with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the air: yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be gathered together.

4 But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

But yet let not any man judge: and let not a man be rebuked: for thy people are as they that contradict the priest.

5 You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother—

And thou shalt fall today, and the prophet also shall fall with thee: in the night I have made thy mother to be silent.

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to me: and thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.

7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.

According to the multitude of them so have they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

8 They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.

They shall eat the sins of my people, and shall lift up their souls to their iniquity.

9 And it shall be like people, like priest. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

And there shall be like people like priest: and I will visit their ways upon them, and I will repay them their devices.

10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD.

And they shall eat and shall not be filled: they have committed fornication, and have not ceased: because they have forsaken the Lord in not observing his law.

11 Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.

Fornication, and wine, and drunkenness take away the understanding.

12 My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.

My people have consulted their stocks, and their staff hath declared unto them: for the spirit of fornication hath deceived them, and they have committed fornication against their God.

13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

They offered sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burnt incense upon the hills: under the oak, and the poplar, and the turpentine tree, because the shadow thereof was good: therefore shall your daughters commit fornication, and your spouses shall be adulteresses.

14 I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.

I will not visit upon your daughters when they shell commit fornication, and upon your spouses when they shall commit adultery: because themselves conversed with harlots, and offered sacrifice with the effeminate, and the people that doth not understand shall be beaten.

15 Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’

If thou play the harlot, O Israel, at least let not Juda offend: and go ye not into Galgal, and come not up into Bethaven, and do not swear: The Lord liveth.

16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?

For Israel hath gone astray like a wanton heifer: now will the Lord feed them, as a lamb in a spacious place.

17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!

Ephraim is a partaker with idols, let him alone.

18 When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.

Their banquet is separated, they have gone astray by fornication: they that should have protected them have loved to bring shame upon them.

19 The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.

The wind hath bound them up in its wings, and they shall be confounded because of their sacrifices.