Hosea 4:2-5:4

English Standard Version

²^(A)there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and ^(B)bloodshed follows bloodshed.
³Therefore ^(C)the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish,
^(D)and also the beasts of the field
    and the birds of the heavens,
    ^(E)and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

⁴^(F)Yet let no one contend,
    and let none accuse,
    for with you is ^(G)my contention, O priest.^[a]
⁵You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy ^(H)your mother.
⁶My people are destroyed ^(I)for lack of knowledge;
    ^(J)because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you ^(K)from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    ^(L)I also will forget your children.

⁷^(M)The more they increased,
    the more they sinned against me;
    ^(N)I will change their glory into shame.
⁸^(O)They feed on the sin^[b] of my people;
    they are greedy for their iniquity.
⁹^(P)And it shall be like people, like priest;
    I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.
¹⁰^(Q)They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish ¹¹whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which ^(R)take away the understanding.
¹²My people ^(S)inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For ^(T)a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore.
¹³^(U)They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
    and burn offerings on the hills,
^(V)under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
    because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
    and your brides commit adultery.
¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for ^(W)the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with ^(X)cult prostitutes,
and a people ^(Y)without understanding shall come to ruin.

¹⁵Though you play the whore, O ^(Z)Israel,
    let not ^(AA)Judah become guilty.
^(AB)Enter not into ^(AC)Gilgal,
    nor go up to ^(AD)Beth-aven,
    and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
¹⁶Like a stubborn heifer,
    Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
    like a lamb in a broad pasture?

¹⁷^(AE)Ephraim is joined to idols;
    ^(AF)leave him alone.
¹⁸When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
    ^(AG)their rulers^[c] dearly love shame.
¹⁹^(AH)A wind has wrapped them^[d] in its wings,
    and they shall ^(AI)be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah

5 ^(AJ)Hear this, O priests!
    Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
    For the judgment is for you;
for ^(AK)you have been a snare at Mizpah
    and a net spread upon ^(AL)Tabor.
²And ^(AM)the revolters ^(AN)have gone deep into slaughter,
    but ^(AO)I will discipline all of them.

³^(AP)I know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
    Israel is defiled.
⁴^(AQ)Their deeds do not permit them
    to return to their God.
For ^(AR)the spirit of whoredom is within them,
    and they know not the Lord.