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10 They will eat, and not have enough.
    They will play the prostitute, and will not increase;
    because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.
11 Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
12     My people consult with their wooden idol,
    and answer to a stick of wood.
Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray,
    and they have been unfaithful to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains,
    and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths,
    because its shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,
    and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
because the men consort with prostitutes,
    and they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes;
    so the people without understanding will come to ruin.

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10 They will eat,
    but will not be satisfied.
They will engage in prostitution,
    but they won’t increase,
        because they have stopped listening to the Lord.

11 “Sexual immorality, wine, and fresh wine seduce the heart of my people.[a]
12 My people seek counsel from their piece of wood,
    and their diviner’s rod[b] speaks to them.
For a spirit of prostitution causes them to go astray;
    in their immorality they desert their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the mountain tops,
    burning offerings on the hills,
under oaks, poplars, and terebinth[c] trees,
    since their shade is very good.
Therefore your daughters are prostitutes
    and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 However, I’m not going to punish your daughters
    when they commit prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because their men are themselves immoral—
    they offer sacrifices with prostitutes.
These people who aren’t discerning will stumble.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:11 So LXX. The Heb. lacks of my people
  2. Hosea 4:12 Lit. their carved wood
  3. Hosea 4:13 Or great