Hosea 4
Christian Standard Bible
God’s Case against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord,(A) people of Israel,
for the Lord has a case(B)
against the inhabitants of the land:
There is no truth,(C) no faithful love,(D)
and no knowledge of God(E) in the land!
2 Cursing,(F) lying,(G) murder,(H) stealing,(I)
and adultery(J) are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.(K)
3 For this reason the land mourns,(L)
and everyone who lives in it languishes,
along with the wild animals(M) and the birds of the sky;
even the fish of the sea disappear.(N)
4 But let no one dispute;(O) let no one argue,
for my case is against you priests.[a][b](P)
5 You will stumble by day;(Q)
the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
And I will destroy your mother.(R)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.(S)
Because you have rejected knowledge,(T)
I will reject you(U) from serving as my priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,(V)
I will also forget your sons.
7 The more they multiplied,(W)
the more they sinned against me.
I[c] will change their[d] honor into disgrace.(X)
8 They feed on the sin[e] of my people;(Y)
they have an appetite for their iniquity.(Z)
9 The same judgment will happen
to both people and priests.(AA)
I will punish them for their ways(AB)
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied;(AC)
they will be promiscuous(AD) but not multiply.
For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.(AE)
11 Promiscuity,(AF) wine, and new wine
take away one’s understanding.(AG)
12 My people consult their wooden idols,(AH)
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;(AI)
they act promiscuously(AJ)
in disobedience to[f] their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops,(AK)
and they burn offerings on the hills,(AL)
and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,(AM)
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters act promiscuously
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters
when they act promiscuously
or your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go off with prostitutes(AN)
and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.(AO)
People without discernment are doomed.(AP)
Warnings for Israel and Judah
15 Israel, if you act promiscuously,
don’t let Judah become guilty!
Do not go to Gilgal(AQ)
or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,[g](AR)
and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives!(AS)
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.(AT)
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?(AU)
17 Ephraim is attached to idols;(AV)
leave him alone!(AW)
18 When their drinking is over,
they turn to promiscuity.
Israel’s leaders[h] fervently love disgrace.[i]
19 A wind with its wings will carry them off,[j](AX)
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
Footnotes
- 4:4 Text emended; MT reads argue, and your people are like those contending with a priest
- 4:4 Hb obscure
- 4:7 Alt Hb tradition, Syr, Tg read They
- 4:7 Alt Hb tradition reads my
- 4:8 Or sin offerings
- 4:12 Lit promiscuously from under
- 4:15 = House of Wickedness
- 4:18 Lit Her shields; Ps 47:9; 89:18
- 4:18 Hb obscure
- 4:19 Lit wind will bind it in its wings
Hosea 4
King James Version
4 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.
11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Hosea 4
The Voice
4 Listen to what the Eternal says, you people of Israel!
Eternal One: I am bringing charges against everyone who lives in your land
because there’s no truth and no faithfulness and no knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing and lying and killing and stealing and adultery—
so that one act of bloodshed follows right after another.
3 It’s because you’re breaking My most basic directives
that the land will mourn with grief and even dry up like a desert plant.
Those dwelling in it waste away,
As the wild animals, the flying birds, and the swimming fish are all dying.
4 Be careful in bringing these charges and contending with one another,
for this is My charge against you,
you priests—I have a divine contention against you!
5 You stumble around during the day, and the prophets stumble with you at night.
And so I will destroy your mother, the land where you live.
6 You’ve forgotten the law of your God: you’ve rejected My judgments.
I’ll reject you because of your lack of knowledge—reject you as My priests;
I’ll even forget your children!
7 The more powerful the priests grew, the more they sinned against Me.
So I’ll turn their honor[a] into shame.
8 Because these priests are allowed to eat the sin offerings,
they actually want the people to sin so they’ll have more meat to eat!
9 And so it’s “like priest, like people”: a low standard for living.
I’ll punish them for this and repay them for what they’ve done:
10 They’ll eat, but they won’t be satisfied; they’ll be active like whores, but have no children
because they’ve rebelled in guarding Me and My ways.
11 Through prostitution, wine, and new wine,
My people have lost their senses;
12 They expect to hear oracles from a wooden idol,
to get guidance from a diviner’s wand!
For a spirit of prostitution is leading them astray—
that’s why they’re so unfaithful to their God and are becoming prostitutes.
13 They offer sacrifices on the mountain tops
and burn incense on the hills,
Gathering under sacred trees like oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
relaxing in their comforting shade.
This is why your own daughters become prostitutes
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!
14 I won’t punish your daughters for their prostitution
or your daughters-in-law for their adultery,
Because you men are visiting common prostitutes yourselves
and offering sacrifices with cultic prostitutes.
My people have no understanding, and they’re being ruined!
15 But even though Israel is being so unfaithful,
don’t you become guilty, too, Judah!
Don’t go to Gilgal, and don’t go to that “house of wickedness,” Beth-aven.
Don’t swear by My name while you’re worshiping other gods!
16 The people of Israel are stubborn, just like heifers,
so how can I shepherd them like lambs in a pasture?
17 Ephraim is allied with idols;
don’t have anything to do with him![b]
18 When they’ve finished drinking, they turn to prostitution to sate their thirst.
Their rulers love shame rather than living decently.[c]
19 They’ll be swept away by the wind,
and they’ll be ashamed of the way they sacrificed to idols.
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The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.