God’s Controversy with Israel

(A)Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel,
Because the Lord has a (B)case against the inhabitants of the land,
For there is (C)no [a]faithfulness, nor [b]loyalty,
Nor (D)knowledge of God in the land.
There is (E)oath-taking, (F)[c]denial, (G)murder, (H)stealing, and (I)adultery.
They employ violence, so that (J)bloodshed [d]follows bloodshed.
Therefore the land (K)mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky,
And even the fish of the sea [e]disappear.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:1 Or truth
  2. Hosea 4:1 Or kindness
  3. Hosea 4:2 I.e., of truth
  4. Hosea 4:2 Lit touches
  5. Hosea 4:3 Lit are taken away

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)

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Footnotes

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