Hosea 4:2-13
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
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.King James Version
Chapter 4
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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
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.
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
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
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
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.New International Version
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.
New King James Version
