Hosea 4:16-18

Contemporary English Version

¹⁶You are nothing more
than a stubborn cow—
so stubborn that I, the Lord,
cannot feed you like lambs
in an open pasture.

¹⁷You people of Israel^[a]
are charmed by^[b] idols.
    Leave those people alone!
¹⁸You get drunk, then sleep
    with prostitutes;
you would rather be vulgar
    than lead a decent life.^[c]

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Footnotes

4.17 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom.
4.17 charmed by: Or “joined to.”
4.18 life: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.