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, ye children of Israel; for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; because there is no truth, nor kindness, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 Curs, and leesyng, and manquelling, and thefte, and auowtrie flowiden, and blood touchide blood.
There is false swearing, and lying, and murdering, and stealing, and committing adultery: they break the bounds, and blood toucheth on blood.
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.
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the heaven; yea, also the fishes of the sea shall perish.
4 Netheles ech man deme not, and a man be not repreuyd; for thi puple is as thei that ayen seien the prest.
Yet let no man strive, let no man reprove another: and thy people are contentious equally with the priest.
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.
Therefore shalt thou stumble in the daytime, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy 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 destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, so will I also reject thee, that thou shalt not be a priest to me; and as thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, so will I myself also forget thy children.
7 Bi the multitude of hem, so thei synneden ayens me. Y schal chaunge the glorie of hem in to schenschipe.
The more they increased, the more did they sin against me: therefore will I 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.
The sin-offering of my people do they eat, and for their iniquity doth the soul of each one of them long.
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.
Therefore shall the same befall both people and priest: and I will punish every one of them for his ways, and recompense every one for his doings.
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.
And they will eat, and shall not be satisfied; they will commit lewdness, and they shall not increase; because the Lord have they forsaken [not] keeping [his law].
11 Fornycacioun, and wiyn, and drunkenesse doen awei the herte.
Lewdness and wine and new wine take away the heart.
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 ask counsel of their stick of wood, and their staff shall tell them [the future]: for the spirit of lewdness hath caused them to err, and they are gone astray unfaithful to 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.
Upon the tops of the mountains do they sacrifice, and upon the hills burn they incense, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because their shadow is good: therefore will your daughters play the harlot, and your daughter-in-law will 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 cannot inflict punishment on your daughters when they play the harlot, nor on your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they themselves associate with lewd women, and with harlots do they sacrifice: and so doth the people that doth not understand stumble.
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.
Yet though thou play the harlot, O Israel, let not Judah offend: and come not ye unto Gilgal, nor go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, As the Lord liveth.
16 For as a wielde cow Israel bowide awei; now the Lord schal fede hem as a lomb in broodnesse.
For like an untamable cow is Israel disobedient: now would the Lord have fed them as a sheep in a wide pasture.
17 Effraym is the partener of idols, leeue thou him;
Ephraim is bound to idols: let him alone.
18 the feeste of hem is departid. Bi fornicacioun thei diden fornicacioun, the defenders therof louyden to brynge schenschipe.
Their drinking bout will come to an end: while they are so often guilty of lewdness, their rulers love, prepare themselves but shame.
19 The spirit boond hym in hise wyngis, and thei schulen be schent of her sacrifices.
The wind seizeth fast on them with its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
