Hosea 4- 1
- Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
- 2
- There is only cursing, [1] lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
- 3
- Because of this the land mourns, [2] and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.
- 4
- "But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
- 5
- You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother--
- 6
- my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
- 7
- The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged [3] their [4] Glory for something disgraceful.
- 8
- They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.
- 9
- And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
- 10
- "They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not increase, because they have deserted the LORD to give themselves
- 11
- to prostitution, to old wine and new, which take away the understanding
- 12
- of my people. They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.
- 13
- They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
- 14
- "I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes-- a people without understanding will come to ruin!
- 15
- "Though you commit adultery, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. "Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. [5] And do not swear, `As surely as the LORD lives!'
- 16
- The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the LORD pasture them like lambs in a meadow?
- 17
- Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
- 18
- Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
- 19
- A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
- [2] That is, to pronounce a curse upon
- [3] Or dries up
- [7] Syriac and an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text I will exchange
- [7] Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition my
- [15] Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a name for Bethel, which means house of God).