Hosea 4:1-6

New King James Version

God’s Charge Against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a ^(A)charge^[a] against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or ^(B)knowledge of God in the land.
²By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed ^[b]upon bloodshed.
³Therefore ^(C)the land will mourn;
And ^(D)everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

⁴“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those ^(E)who contend with the priest.
⁵Therefore you shall stumble ^(F)in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
⁶^(G)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
^(H)Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.