HoseaChapter 4

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹Hear the word of the LORD, you people of Israel.
For the LORD has a case against the people of the land:
"There is no truth and no faithful love.
No one in the land knows God! ²Cursing and lying are everywhere.
So are murder, stealing, and adultery.
One killing follows another. ³So the land mourns.
All who live in it waste away,
along with the wild animals and the birds in the sky.
Even the fish in the sea are disappearing. ⁴But let no one argue.
Let no one blame anyone else.
For your people are like those who argue with a priest. ⁵You will stumble by day,
and the prophet will stumble with you by night.
So I will destroy your mother— ⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
You have rejected knowledge,
so I will reject you as my priests.
You have forgotten the law of your God,
so I will also forget your children. ⁷The more they grew in number,
the more they sinned against me.
They traded their Glory for something shameful. ⁸They feed on the sins of my people.
Their hearts long for their wrongdoing. ⁹So it will be the same for people and priest.
I will punish both of them for their ways.
I will pay them back for what they have done. ¹⁰They will eat but not be full.
They will commit sexual sin but not grow in number.
For they have left the LORD
to give themselves ¹¹to sexual sin, wine, and new wine.
These take away understanding. ¹²My people ask their wooden idols for advice.
Their divining rods give them answers.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray.
They have left their God to act like a prostitute. ¹³They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops.
They burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth trees,
because the shade is pleasant.
So your daughters turn to prostitution,
and your sons' wives to adultery. ¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they act as prostitutes.
I will not punish your sons' wives when they commit adultery.
For the men themselves go off with prostitutes.
They offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes.
So a people without understanding will be ruined. ¹⁵Israel, though you act like a prostitute,
do not let Judah become guilty too!
Do not go to Gilgal.
Do not go up to Beth-aven.
And do not swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives!'a ¹⁶For Israel is as stubborn
as a stubborn young cow.
Can the LORD now feed them like lambs
in an open field? ¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols.
Leave him alone! ¹⁸When their drink is gone,
they turn to prostitution.
Their rulers dearly love what is shameful. ¹⁹A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings.
Their sacrifices will bring them shame.