11 to prostitution;(A)
old wine(B) and new wine
    take away their understanding.(C)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(D)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(E)
A spirit of prostitution(F) leads them astray;(G)
    they are unfaithful(H) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(I) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.(J)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(K)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(L)

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(M)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(N)
    a people without understanding(O) will come to ruin!(P)

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

“Do not go to Gilgal;(Q)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.[a](R)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(S)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(T)
    like a stubborn heifer.(U)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs(V) 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(W) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(X)

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).

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