Hosea 4
1 Sones of Israel, here ye the word of the Lord, for whi doom is to the Lord with the dwelleris of erthe; for whi trewthe is not, and merci is not, and kunnyng of the Lord is not in erthe.
Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has an accusation against the inhabitants of the land! “There is no faithfulness, no loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land.
2 Curs, and leesyng, and manquelling, and thefte, and auowtrie flowiden, and blood touchide blood.
Instead there is only cursing, lying, murdering, stealing, and adultery. They commit violence, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 For this thing the erthe schal mourne, and ech that dwellith in that lond, schal be sijk, in the beeste of the feeld, and in the brid of the eir; but also the fischis of the see schulen be gaderid togidere.
As a result the land dries up, and everyone who lives there is wasting away, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea—they are all dying.
4 Netheles ech man deme not, and a man be not repreuyd; for thi puple is as thei that ayen seien the prest.
But no one should accuse or blame anyone else. My quarrel is with you the priests—you are the ones responsible.
5 And thou schalt falle to dai, and the profete also schal falle with thee; in the niyt Y made thi modir to be stille.
Consequently you will stumble in daylight, and the prophet will stumble together with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother.
6 My puple was stille, for it hadde not kunnyng; for thou hast putte awei kunnyng, Y schal putte thee awei, that thou vse not presthod to me; and for thou hast foryete the lawe of thi God, also Y schal foryete thi sones.
My people are dying because they don't know me. Because you have refused to know me, I refuse to accept you as my priests. You have forgotten my teachings, so I will forget your children.
7 Bi the multitude of hem, so thei synneden ayens me. Y schal chaunge the glorie of hem in to schenschipe.
The more there were of them, the more they sinned against me, so I will change their glory into shame.
8 Thei schulen ete the synnes of my puple, and thei schulen reise the soulis of hem to the wickidnesse of hem.
They feed on the sin of my people, greedy for their iniquity.
9 And it schal be, as the puple so the prest; and Y schal visite on hym the weies of hym, and Y schal yelde to him the thouytis of hym.
So it will be for the people like the priests: I will punish them for what they have done, repaying them for their actions.
10 And thei schulen ete, and thei schulen not be fillid; thei diden fornicacioun, and ceessiden not, for thei forsoken the Lord in not kepynge.
They will eat, but they will not be satisfied; they will engage in prostitution, but they will not prosper because they have given up on the Lord to go and prostitute themselves to other gods.
11 Fornycacioun, and wiyn, and drunkenesse doen awei the herte.
They destroy their minds with old wine and new wine.
12 My puple axide in his tre, and the staf therof telde to it; for the spirit of fornicacioun disseyuede hem, and thei diden fornicacioun fro her God.
My people consult their wooden idols and their divining rods give them answers, for a spirit of prostitution makes them go astray. Prostituting themselves, they have deserted their God.
13 On the heedis of mounteyns thei maden sacrifice, and on the litil hillis thei brenten encense vndur an ook, and a popeler, and terebynte, for the schadewe therof was good. Therfor youre douytris schulen do fornicacioun, and youre wyues schulen be auoutressis.
They offer sacrifices on the tops of mountains; they burn incense in the hills under the oak, poplar, and terebinth trees where the shade is pleasant. That's the reason why your daughters practice prostitution and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 Y schal not visite on youre douytris, whanne thei don fornicacioun, and on youre wyues, whanne thei doon auowtrie; for thei lyuyden with hooris, and maden sacrifice with men turned in to wymmens condiciouns. And the puple that vndirstondith not, schal be betun.
I will not punish your daughters when they practice prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because you men visit whores and sacrifice with temple prostitutes. A people who lack understanding end up in disaster.
15 If thou, Israel, doist fornicacioun, nameli Juda trespasse not; and nyle ye entre in to Galgala, and stie ye not in to Bethauen, nether swere ye, The Lord lyueth.
Though you, Israel, have become a prostitute, may Judah not offend in the same way and not enter Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, nor swear saying, ‘the Lord lives.’
16 For as a wielde cow Israel bowide awei; now the Lord schal fede hem as a lomb in broodnesse.
For Israel is as stubborn as a stubborn cow. Should the Lord then take care of them like a lamb in a wide pasture?
17 Effraym is the partener of idols, leeue thou him;
Ephraim is bewitched by idols, so leave him alone!
18 the feeste of hem is departid. Bi fornicacioun thei diden fornicacioun, the defenders therof louyden to brynge schenschipe.
Once the leaders finish drinking, they go off and find prostitutes to sleep with. They love their shameful acts more than honor.
19 The spirit boond hym in hise wyngis, and thei schulen be schent of her sacrifices.
A wind will carry them away; they will be ashamed of their pagan worship.
