Hosea 4

1 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.

'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, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood.

Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery — have increased, And blood against blood hath touched.

3 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.

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

Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people [are] as those striving with a priest.

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

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 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.

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

According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, Their honour into shame I change.

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

The sin of My people they do eat, And unto their iniquity lift up their soul.

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

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 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.

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

Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take the heart,

12 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

For as a refractory heifer hath Israel turned aside, Now doth Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.

17 Ephraim is a partaker with idols, let him alone.

Joined to idols [is] Ephraim, let him alone.

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

Sour [is] their drink, They have gone diligently a-whoring, Her protectors have loved shame thoroughly.

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

Distressed her hath wind with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!