Hosea 4:12-14
Expanded Bible
God’s Case Against the People
12 “My people ask wooden idols for ·advice [counsel];
they ask ·those sticks of wood [or divining rods/staffs] to advise them!
·Like prostitutes, they have chased after other gods [L A spirit/wind of prostitution leads/blows them astray]
·and have left [committing adultery against; being unfaithful to] their own God.
13 They make sacrifices on the tops of the mountains [C places of pagan worship].
They burn offerings on the hills,
under oaks, poplars, and ·other trees [terebinths],
because their shade is ·nice [pleasant].
So your daughters become prostitutes [C cultic prostitutes in pagan temples],
and your daughters-in-law are guilty of adultery.
14 “But I will not punish your daughters
for becoming prostitutes,
nor your daughters-in-law
for their sins of adultery.
I will not punish them,
because the men ·have sexual relations [go off] with prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with the ·temple [cult; shrine] prostitutes.
A ·foolish people [people without knowledge/discernment] will be ·ruined [destroyed].
Hosea 4:12-14
Amplified Bible
12
My people consult their [lifeless] wooden idol, and their [diviner’s] wand gives them oracles.
For a spirit of prostitution has led them astray [morally and spiritually],
And they have played the prostitute, withdrawing themselves from their God.
13
They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because the shade is pleasant there.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute
And your brides commit adultery.
14
I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves slip away with prostitutes,
And they offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes [who give their bodies in honor of the idol].
So the people without understanding [stumble and fall and] come to ruin.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
