Hosea 4

Revised Geneva Translation

4 Hear the Word of the LORD, you children of Israel! For the LORD has a dispute with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land:

² “By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and whoring, they break out. And blood touches blood.

³ “Therefore the land shall mourn. And everyone who dwells in it shall be cut off, with the beasts of the field and with the birds of the heaven. And the fish of the sea shall also be taken away.

⁴ “Still, let no one rebuke or reprove another. For you people are as those who rebuke the priest.

⁵ “Therefore, you shall fall in the day. And the Prophet shall fall with you in the night. And I will destroy your mother.

⁶ “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have refused knowledge, I will also refuse you, so that you shall be no priest to Me. And seeing you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your children.

⁷ “As they were increased, so they sinned against Me. I will change their glory into shame.

⁸ “They eat up the sins of My people and lift up their minds in their iniquity.

⁹ “And it shall be ‘like people, like priest’. For I will visit their ways upon them and reward them for their deeds.

¹⁰ “For they shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit adultery and shall not increase, because they have ceased obeying the LORD.

¹¹ “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away their heart.

¹² “My people ask counsel at their wooden idols. And their staff teaches them. For the spirit of fornications has caused them to err. And they have gone a whoring from under their God.

¹³ “They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills, under the oaks and the poplar tree and the elm, because their shadows are good. Therefore, your daughters shall be harlots. And your spouses shall be whores.

¹⁴ “I will not visit your daughters when they are harlots, or your spouses when they are whores. For they themselves are separated with harlots and sacrifice with whores. Therefore, the people who do not understand shall fall.

¹⁵ “Though you, Israel, play the harlot, do not let Judah sin. Do not come to Gilgal, or go up to Beth Aven, or swear, ‘The LORD lives.’

¹⁶ “For Israel is as rebellious as an unruly heifer. Now, the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

¹⁷ “Ephraim has joined to idols. Let him alone.

¹⁸ “Their drunkenness stinks. They have committed whoredom. Their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

¹⁹ “The wind has bound them up in her wings. And they shall be ashamed of their sacrifices.”