Hosea 4-6

New King James Version

God’s Charge Against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a ^(A)charge^[a] against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or ^(B)knowledge of God in the land.
²By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed ^[b]upon bloodshed.
³Therefore ^(C)the land will mourn;
And ^(D)everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

⁴“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those ^(E)who contend with the priest.
⁵Therefore you shall stumble ^(F)in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
⁶^(G)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
^(H)Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

⁷“The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
^(I)I^[c] will change ^[d]their glory into shame.
⁸They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their ^[e]heart on their iniquity.
⁹And it shall be: ^(J)like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And ^[f]reward them for their deeds.
¹⁰For ^(K)they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the Lord.

The Idolatry of Israel

¹¹“Harlotry, wine, and new wine ^(L)enslave the heart.
¹²My people ask counsel from their ^(M)wooden idols,
And their ^[g]staff informs them.
For ^(N)the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.
¹³^(O)They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because their shade is good.
^(P)Therefore your daughters commit harlotry,
And your brides commit adultery.

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,
Nor your brides when they commit adultery;
For the men themselves go apart with harlots,
And offer sacrifices with a ^(Q)ritual harlot.
Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
^(R)Do not come up to Gilgal,
Nor go up to ^(S)Beth^[h] Aven,
^(T)Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—

¹⁶“For Israel ^(U)is stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the Lord will let them forage
Like a lamb in ^[i]open country.

¹⁷“Ephraim is joined to idols,
^(V)Let him alone.
¹⁸Their drink ^[j]is rebellion,
They commit harlotry continually.
^(W)Her ^[k]rulers ^[l]dearly love dishonor.
¹⁹^(X)The wind has wrapped her up in its wings,
And ^(Y)they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah

5 “Hear this, O priests!
Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For ^[m]yours is the judgment,
Because ^(Z)you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
²The revolters are ^(AA)deeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
³^(AB)I know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, ^(AC)you commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.

⁴“They^[n] do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For ^(AD)the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.
⁵The ^(AE)pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.

⁶“With their flocks and herds
^(AF)They shall go to seek the Lord,
But they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn Himself from them.
⁷They have ^(AG)dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have begotten ^[o]pagan children.
Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.

⁸“Blow^(AH) the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah!
^(AI)Cry aloud at ^(AJ)Beth Aven,
‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
⁹Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.

¹⁰“The princes of Judah are like those who ^(AK)remove a landmark;
I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
¹¹Ephraim is ^(AL)oppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by ^(AM)human precept.
¹²Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah ^(AN)like rottenness.

¹³“When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his ^(AO)wound,
Then Ephraim went ^(AP)to Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
¹⁴For ^(AQ)I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
^(AR)I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
¹⁵I will return again to My place
Till they ^[p]acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

A Call to Repentance

6 Come,^(AS) and let us return to the Lord;
For ^(AT)He has torn, but ^(AU)He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will ^[q]bind us up.
²^(AV)After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
³^(AW)Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established ^(AX)as the morning;
^(AY)He will come to us ^(AZ)like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

⁴“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by ^(BA)the words of My mouth;
And ^[r]your judgments are like light that goes forth.
⁶For I desire ^(BB)mercy^[s] and ^(BC)not sacrifice,
And the ^(BD)knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

⁷“But like ^[t]men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
⁸^(BE)Gilead is a city of evildoers
And ^[u]defiled with blood.
⁹As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man,
So the company of ^(BF)priests ^(BG)murder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they commit ^(BH)lewdness.
¹⁰I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
There is the ^[v]harlotry of Ephraim;
Israel is defiled.
¹¹Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you,
When I return the captives of My people.