Hosea 4:4-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is my contention, O priest.[a](A)
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night,
and I will destroy your mother.(B)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge!
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me;
and since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.(C)
7 The more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
they changed[b] their glory into shame.(D)
8 They feed on the sin of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 And it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(E)
10 They shall eat but not be satisfied;
they shall prostitute themselves but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to devote themselves to(F) 11 prostitution.
The Idolatry of Israel
Wine and new wine
take away the understanding.(G)
Hosea 4:4-11
Evangelical Heritage Version
4 Yet no one should bring charges.
No one should accuse,
because your people are like those who dispute with a priest.[a]
5 You will stumble by day,
and the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
I will also destroy your mother.
6 My people have been destroyed because of lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you
from serving as a priest for me.
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me.
I changed their glory into shame.[b]
8 They feed on the sin of my people.
They set their desire on things that make them guilty.
9 So it will be the same for people as for priests.
I will punish them for their ways.
I will repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not be satisfied.
They will engage in sexual immorality, but not increase.
This will take place because they have abandoned the Lord to devote themselves to 11 sexual sin.[c]
Wine and new wine take away their understanding.[d]
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:4 The verse is difficult. The translation follows the Hebrew and Greek texts. Translations that render the third line my contention is with you, O priest emend the text to obtain this rendering. The point of the verse seems to be that it is useless to bring charges against these people, because they would not accept the judgment even of a priest.
- Hosea 4:7 A Hebrew variant is they changed my glory for something shameful.
- Hosea 4:11 Or prostitution
- Hosea 4:11 The proper dividing point between verses 10 and 11 is uncertain. Though the words sexual sin are in verse 11 in the Hebrew text, these words belong with verse 10.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.