The Lord Accuses Israel

(A)Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for (B)the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and (C)no knowledge of God in the land;
(D)there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and (E)bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Therefore (F)the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish,
(G)and also the beasts of the field
    and the birds of the heavens,
    (H)and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

(I)Yet let no one contend,
    and let none accuse,
    for with you is (J)my contention, O priest.[a]
You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy (K)your mother.
My people are destroyed (L)for lack of knowledge;
    (M)because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you (N)from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    (O)I also will forget your children.

(P)The more they increased,
    the more they sinned against me;
    (Q)I will change their glory into shame.
(R)They feed on the sin[b] of my people;
    they are greedy for their iniquity.
(S)And it shall be like people, like priest;
    I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.
10 (T)They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which (U)take away the understanding.
12 My people (V)inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For (W)a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 (X)They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
    and burn offerings on the hills,
(Y)under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
    because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
    and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for (Z)the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with (AA)cult prostitutes,
and a people (AB)without understanding shall come to ruin.

15 Though you play the whore, O (AC)Israel,
    let not (AD)Judah become guilty.
(AE)Enter not into (AF)Gilgal,
    nor go up to (AG)Beth-aven,
    and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
16 Like a stubborn heifer,
    Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
    like a lamb in a broad pasture?

17 (AH)Ephraim is joined to idols;
    (AI)leave him alone.
18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
    (AJ)their rulers[c] dearly love shame.
19 (AK)A wind has wrapped them[d] in its wings,
    and they shall (AL)be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:4 Or for your people are like those who contend with the priest
  2. Hosea 4:8 Or sin offering
  3. Hosea 4:18 Hebrew shields
  4. Hosea 4:19 Hebrew her

The Charge Against Israel

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
    because the Lord has a charge(A) to bring
    against you who live in the land:(B)
“There is no faithfulness,(C) no love,
    no acknowledgment(D) of God in the land.(E)
There is only cursing,[a] lying(F) and murder,(G)
    stealing(H) and adultery;(I)
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(J)
Because of this the land dries up,(K)
    and all who live in it waste away;(L)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.(M)

“But let no one bring a charge,
    let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
    who bring charges against a priest.(N)
You stumble(O) day and night,
    and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(P)
    my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(Q)

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(R) of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.
The more priests there were,
    the more they sinned against me;
    they exchanged their glorious God[b](S) for something disgraceful.(T)
They feed on the sins of my people
    and relish their wickedness.(U)
And it will be: Like people, like priests.(V)
    I will punish both of them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.(W)

10 “They will eat but not have enough;(X)
    they will engage in prostitution(Y) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(Z) the Lord
    to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(AA)
old wine(AB) and new wine
    take away their understanding.(AC)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(AD)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(AE)
A spirit of prostitution(AF) leads them astray;(AG)
    they are unfaithful(AH) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(AI) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.(AJ)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(AK)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(AL)

14 “I will not punish your daughters
    when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(AM)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(AN)
    a people without understanding(AO) will come to ruin!(AP)

15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
    do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;(AQ)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.[c](AR)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(AS)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(AT)
    like a stubborn heifer.(AU)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs(AV) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(AW) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
  2. Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
  3. Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).