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 a word of Jehovah, sons of Israel, For a strife [is] to Jehovah with inhabitants of the land, For there is no truth, nor kindness, Nor knowledge of God, in the land,
2 Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery — have increased, And blood against blood hath touched.
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 mourn doth the land, And weak is every dweller in it, With the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the fishes of the sea — they are removed.
4 But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.
Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people [are] as those striving with a priest.
5 You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother—
And thou hast stumbled in the day, And stumbled hath also a prophet with thee in the night, And I have cut off thy mother.
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.
Cut off have been My people for lack of knowledge, Because thou knowledge hast rejected, I reject thee from being priest to Me, And thou forgettest the law of thy God, I forget thy sons, I also!
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.
According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, Their honour into shame I change.
8 They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.
The sin of My people they do eat, And unto their iniquity lift up their soul.
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 it hath been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD.
And they have eaten, and are not satisfied, They have gone a-whoring, and increase not, For they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.
11 Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take the heart,
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 at its staff asketh and its rod declareth to it, For a spirit of whoredoms hath caused to err, And they go a-whoring from under 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.
On tops of the mountains they do sacrifice, And on the hills they make perfume, Under oak, and poplar, and terebinth, For good [is] its shade.
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.
Therefore commit whoredom do your daughters, And your spouses commit adultery, I do not see after your daughters when they commit whoredom, And after your spouses when they commit adultery, For they with the harlots are separated, And with the whores they do sacrifice, A people that doth not understand kicketh.
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!’
Though a harlot thou [art], O Israel, Let not Judah become guilty, And come not ye in to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-Aven, Nor swear ye, Jehovah liveth.
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
For as a refractory heifer hath Israel turned aside, Now doth Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.
17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
Joined to idols [is] Ephraim, let him alone.
18 When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.
Sour [is] their drink, They have gone diligently a-whoring, Her protectors have loved shame thoroughly.
19 The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
Distressed her hath wind with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!
