Hosea 4
1 Hear the word of Yahweh, ye sons of Israel, —that, a controversy, hath Yahweh with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, nor lovingkindness, nor knowledge of God, in the land:
Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel! For Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; For there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 Cursing and lying, and killing and stealing, and committing adultery, have broken forth, and, blood-shedding, unto blood-shedding, doth extend.
Perjury, and falsehood, and murder, And theft, and adultery have broken forth, And blood reacheth to blood.
3 For this cause, shall the land mourn, and everyone who dwelleth therein shall languish, with the wild beast of the field and with the bird of the heavens, —moreover also, the fishes of the sea, shall be withdrawn.
Therefore shall the land mourn, And every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, Together with the beasts of the forest, and the birds of heaven; Yea, even the fishes of the sea shall perish.
4 Howbeit let, no man, contend, nor let him rebuke another, —since, thy people, are as they who contend against a priest:
Yet let no man rebuke, and let no man reprove; For thy people are like those that contend with the priest,
5 So shouldst thou stumble in the daytime, and even the prophet stumble with thee, in the night, —and I should destroy thine own mother.
Therefore shalt thou Fall by day, And the prophet shall fall with thee by night, And I will destroy thy mother.
6 My people, are destroyed, for lack of knowledge, —Because, thou, hast rejected knowledge, therefore will I reject thee from ministering as priest unto me, and, because thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also, will forget thy children.
My people is destroyed for lack of knowledge; Since thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, so that thou shalt no more be my priest; Since thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.
7 As they were magnified, so, they sinned against me, —My glory—for what was contemptible, did they exchange.
As they have become great, so have they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.
8 The sin of my people, they do eat, —and. unto their iniquity, lift they up every man his desire.
They feed upon the sins of my people, And incline their hearts to their iniquity.
9 So doth it come to be—like people, like priest, —therefore will I visit upon him his ways, and, his doings, will I bring back to him;
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; I will punish them for their ways, And requite them for their doings.
10 And they shall eat, and not be satisfied, they have encouraged unchastity, yet have not been making increase, —for unto, Yahweh, have they left off giving heed: —
They shall eat and shall not be satisfied; They shall commit fornication, and shall not increase, For they have left off giving heed to Jehovah.
11 Unchastity, and wine, and new wine, take away the heart.
Fornication and wine and new wine take away the understanding;
12 My people, of their Wood, do ask, —Let, their Staff, then tell them, —for, the spirit of unchastity, hath led them astray, and they have unchastely departed from under their God.
My people ask counsel of their stocks, And their staff revealeth to them. For the spirit of fornication causeth them to err; Yea, they commit fornication, forsaking their God.
13 On the headlands of the mountains, they sacrifice, and, on the hills, burn they incense, under oak and poplar and terebinth, because, pleasant, is the shade thereof: For this cause, do your daughters, become unchaste, and, your brides, commit adultery.
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, And on the hills they burn incense, Under the oak, and the poplar, and the terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters commit fornication, And your daughters-in-law commit adultery;
14 I do not bring punishment upon your daughters when they become unchaste, nor upon your brides, when they commit adultery, for, the men themselves, with unchaste women, do seclude themselves, and, with the common women of the shrine, do offer sacrifice, —and, a people who will not discern, must be ruined.
I will not punish your daughters, when they commit fornication, Nor your daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery; For ye yourselves go aside with harlots, And sacrifice with prostitutes; Therefore the people that hath not understanding shall fall.
15 Though unchaste art thou, O Israel, let not Judah, become guilty, neither let them enter Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, and [then] swear, By the life of Yahweh!
Though thou play the harlot, O Israel, Yet let not Judah offend! Come ye not to Gilgal, Neither go ye up to Bethaven. And swear ye not, saying, As Jehovah liveth!
16 For, as a heifer that is stubborn, hath Israel, been stubborn, —Now, can Yahweh, turn them out to pasture, like a young ram in a wide place?
For like a refractory heifer is Israel become refractory, Therefore will Jehovah feed them, like a lamb in a wide place.
17 Mated with idols, is Ephraim, let him alone.
Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone!
18 Their drinking-bout, having passed, —they became, unchaste, they loved wildly, a contempt, became her great men.
When their carousal is over, They give themselves up to lasciviousness; Their rulers love shame.
19 The wind hath bound her up in its wings, —that they may be ashamed, because of their sacrifices.
The wind hath bound them up with its wings, And they shall be brought to shame on account of their sacrifices.
