Hosea 4:1-3

New International Version

The Charge Against Israel

4 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)
²There is only cursing,^[a] lying^(F) and murder,^(G)
    stealing^(H) and adultery;^(I)
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.^(J)
³Because 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)

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Footnotes

Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on

Hosea 4:12-19

New International Version

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

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^(J)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes^(K)—
    a people without understanding^(L) will come to ruin!^(M)

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

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