< Hosea 4 >
1 '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,
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 Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery — have increased, And blood against blood hath touched.
There is false swearing, and lying, and murdering, and stealing, and committing adultery: they break the bounds, and blood toucheth on blood.
3 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.
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 Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people [are] as those striving with a priest.
Yet let no man strive, let no man reprove another: and thy people are contentious equally with the priest.
5 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.
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 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!
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 According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, Their honour into shame I change.
The more they increased, the more did they sin against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8 The sin of My people they do eat, And unto their iniquity lift up their soul.
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 hath been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it.
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 they have eaten, and are not satisfied, They have gone a-whoring, and increase not, For they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.
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 Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take the heart,
Lewdness and wine and new wine take away the heart.
12 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 refractory heifer hath Israel turned aside, Now doth Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.
For like an untamable cow is Israel disobedient: now would the Lord have fed them as a sheep in a wide pasture.
17 Joined to idols [is] Ephraim, let him alone.
Ephraim is bound to idols: let him alone.
18 Sour [is] their drink, They have gone diligently a-whoring, Her protectors have loved shame thoroughly.
Their drinking bout will come to an end: while they are so often guilty of lewdness, their rulers love, prepare themselves but shame.
19 Distressed her hath wind with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!
The wind seizeth fast on them with its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.