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Hosea chapter 4

English Standard Version

1Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; 2there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. 4Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. 5You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. 6My 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. 7The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame. 8They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity. 9And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10They 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 take away the understanding. 12My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore. 13They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, 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 the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin. 15Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. Enter not into Gilgal, nor go up to 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? 17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone. 18When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame. 19A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
New International Version

1Hear 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. 2There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away. 4But let no one bring a charge, let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest. 5You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother--
6my 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. 7The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful. 8They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.
9And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the LORD to give themselves 11to prostitution; old wine and new wine take away their understanding. 12My people consult a wooden idol, and a diviner's rod speaks to them. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.
13They 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.
14I 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!
15Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. 'Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives!' 16The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the LORD pasture them like lambs in a meadow? 17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone! 18Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways. 19A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
New American Standard Bible

1Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel, Because the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, Nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, And even the fish of the sea disappear. 4Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who contend with a priest. 5So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother. 6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children. 7The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. 8They feed on the sin of My people, And long for their wrongdoing. 9And it will be, like people, like priest; So I will punish them for their ways And repay them for their deeds. 10They will eat, but not have enough; They will play the prostitute, but not increase, Because they gave up devoting themselves to the Lord. 11 Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding. 12My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God. 13They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the hills, Under oak, poplar, and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, And your brides commit adultery. 14I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, Or your brides when they commit adultery, Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined. 15Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Judah must not become guilty; Also you are not to go to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: 'As the Lord lives!' 16Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn cow, Will the Lord now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field? 17Ephraim is allied with idols; Leave him alone. 18Their liquor is gone, They prostitute themselves continually; Their rulers dearly love shame. 19The wind wraps them in its wings, And they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
Christian Standard Bible

1Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land! 2Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. 3For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear. 4But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for my case is against you priests. 5You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother.
6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons. 7The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against me. I will change their honor into disgrace. 8They feed on the sin of my people; they have an appetite for their iniquity. 9The same judgment will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.
11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away one's understanding. 12My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray; they act promiscuously in disobedience to their God. 13They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and they burn offerings on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters act promiscuously and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14I will not punish your daughters when they act promiscuously or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, for the men themselves go off with prostitutes and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes. People without discernment are doomed. 15Israel, if you act promiscuously, don't let Judah become guilty! Do not go to Gilgal or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven, and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives! 16For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow. Can the Lord now shepherd them like a lamb in an open meadow? 17Ephraim is attached to idols; leave him alone! 18When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel's leaders fervently love disgrace. 19A wind with its wings will carry them off, and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
New Living Translation

1Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: 'There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. 2You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere — one murder after another. 3That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.
4'Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. 5So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. 6My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. 7The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.
8'When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin! 9‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’ So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds. 10They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the Lord
11to worship other gods. 'Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. 12They ask a piece of wood for advice! They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.
13They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops. They go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees. 'That is why your daughters turn to prostitution, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14But why should I punish them for their prostitution and adultery? For your men are doing the same thing, sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes. O foolish people! You refuse to understand, so you will be destroyed.
15'Though you, Israel, are a prostitute, may Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, and do not take oaths there in the Lord’s name. 16Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the Lord feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture? 17Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry. 18When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor. 19So a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame.
King James Version

1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. 8They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. 9And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. 10For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. 11Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
12My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. 13They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. 14I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall. 15Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. 16For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. 18Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. 19The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

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