Hosea 4

1 “Hear a word of YHWH, sons of Israel, For a strife [is] to YHWH with inhabitants of the land, For there is no truth, nor kindness, Nor knowledge of God in the land;

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel: for the Lord [has] a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

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

Cursing, and lying, and murder, and theft, and adultery abound in the land, and they mingle blood with blood.

3 Therefore the land mourns, And every dweller is weak in it, With the beast of the field, And with the bird of the heavens, And the fishes of the sea—they are removed.

Therefore shall the land mourn, and shall be diminished with all that dwell in it, with the wild beasts of the field, and the reptiles of the earth, and with the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea shall fail:

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

that neither any one may plead, nor any one reprove [another]; but my people are as a priest spoken against.

5 And you have stumbled in the day, And a prophet has also stumbled with you in the night, And I have cut off your mother.

Therefore they shall fall by day, and the prophet with you shall fall: I have compared your mother to night.

6 My people have been cut off for lack of knowledge, Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest to Me, And you forget the Law of your God—I forget your sons, I also!

My people are like as if they had no knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall not minister as priest to me: and [as] you has forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

7 According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, I change their glory into shame.

According to their multitude, so they sinned against me: I will turn their glory into shame.

8 The sin of My people they eat, And to their iniquity lift up their soul.

They will devour the sins of my people, and will set their hearts on their iniquities.

9 And it has been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it.

And the priest shall be as the people: and I will avenge on them their ways, and I will recompense to them their counsels.

10 And they have eaten, and are not satisfied, They have gone whoring, and do not increase, For they have left off taking heed to YHWH.

And they shall eat, and shall not be satisfied: they have gone a-whoring, and shall by no means prosper: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

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

The heart of my people has gladly engaged in fornication and wine and strong drink.

12 My people at its staff asks and its rod declares to it, For a spirit of whoredoms has caused to err, And they go whoring from under their God.

They asked counsel by [means of] signs, and they reported answer to them by their staves: they have gone astray in a spirit of whoredom, and gone grievously a-whoring from their God.

13 On tops of the mountains they sacrifice, And on the hills they make incense, Under oak, and poplar, and terebinth, For good [is] its shade.

They have sacrificed on the tops of the mountains, and on the hills they have sacrificed under the oak and poplar, and under the shady tree, because the shade was good: therefore your daughters shall go a-whoring, and your daughters-in-law shall commit adultery.

14 Therefore your daughters commit whoredom, 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 sacrifice, A people that does not understand kicks.

And I will not visit upon your daughters when they shall commit fornication, nor your daughters-in-law when they shall commit adultery: for they themselves mingled themselves with harlots, and sacrificed with polluted ones, and the people that understood not entangled itself with a harlot.

15 Though you [are] a harlot, O Israel, Do not let Judah become guilty, And do not come to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-Aven, Nor swear, YHWH lives.

But you, O Israel, be not ignorant, and go you not, [men of] Juda, to Galgala; and go not up to the house of On, and swear not by the living Lord.

16 For Israel has turned aside as a stubborn heifer, Now YHWH feeds them as a lamb in a large place.

For Israel was maddened like a mad heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a wide place.

17 Ephraim is joined to idols, leave him alone.

Ephraim, joined with idols, has laid stumbling blocks in his own way.

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

He has chosen the Chananites: they have grievously gone a-whoring: they have loved dishonor through her insolence.

19 Wind has distressed her with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!”

You are a blast of wind in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their altars.