Hosea 4:12-14
New American Standard Bible
12 My people (A)consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray,
And they have been unfaithful, departing [a]from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the (B)tops of the mountains
And [b](C)burn incense on the hills,
(D)Under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,
And your [c]brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
Or your [d]brides when they commit adultery,
Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes
And offer sacrifices with (E)temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:12 Lit from under
- Hosea 4:13 Or offer sacrifices
- Hosea 4:13 Or daughters-in-law
- Hosea 4:14 Or daughters-in-law
Hosea 4:12-14
New English Translation
12 They consult their wooden idols,
and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.
The wind of prostitution blows them astray;
they commit spiritual adultery[a] against their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills;
they sacrifice[b] under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is so pleasant.
As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.
For the men consort with harlots,
they sacrifice with temple prostitutes.
It is true:[c] “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:12 tn Heb “adultery.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here.
- Hosea 4:13 tn The phrase “they sacrifice” is not repeated in the Hebrew text here but is implied by parallelism; it is provided in the translation for the sake of clarity.
- Hosea 4:14 tn The words “it is true” are supplied in the translation to indicate that this is a conclusion drawn on the preceding behavior (cf. NAB “So must a people”; NRSV “thus a people”; TEV “As the proverb says, ‘A people’”).
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