Hosea 4

God’s Case against Israel

1 Hear the word of the  Lord,  * 4:1 Hs 5:1 people of Israel,

for the Lord has a case  * 4:1 Hs 12:2; Mc 6:2

against the inhabitants of the land:

There is no truth,  * 4:1 Is 59:4; Jr 7:28 no faithful love,  * 4:1 Hs 6:6

and no knowledge of God  * 4:1 Hs 5:4 in the land!

2 Cursing,  * 4:2 Hs 10:4 lying,  * 4:2 Hs 7:3; 10:13; 11:12 murder,  * 4:2 Hs 6:9  stealing,  * 4:2 Hs 7:1

and adultery  * 4:2 Hs 7:4 are rampant;

one act of bloodshed follows another.  * 4:2 Hs 6:8; 12:14

3 For this reason the land mourns,  * 4:3 Is 24:4; 33:9

and everyone who lives in it languishes,

along with the wild animals  * 4:3 Jr 4:25 and the birds of the sky;

even the fish of the sea disappear.  * 4:3 Gn 1:20–25

4 But let no one dispute;  * 4:4 Ezk 3:26; Am 5:10,13 let no one argue,

for my case is against you priests.  * 4:4 Text emended; MT reads argue, and your people are like those contending with a priest,* 4:4 Hb obscure,* 4:4 Dt 17:12–13

5 You will stumble by day;  * 4:5 Ezk 14:3; Hs 5:5

the prophet will also stumble with you by night.

And I will destroy your mother.  * 4:5 Hs 2:2,5

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  * 4:6 Is 5:13

Because you have rejected knowledge,  * 4:6 Mal 2:7–8

I will reject you  * 4:6 Zch 11:8–9,15–17 from serving as my priest.

Since you have forgotten the law of your God,  * 4:6 Hs 2:13; 8:14; 13:6

I will also forget your sons.

7 The more they multiplied,  * 4:7 Hs 10:1; 13:6

the more they sinned against me.

I  * 4:7 Alt Hb tradition, Syr, Tg read They will change their  * 4:7 Alt Hb tradition reads my  honor into disgrace.  * 4:7 Hab 2:16

8 They feed on the sin  * 4:8 Or sin offerings of my people;  * 4:8 Hs 10:13

they have an appetite for their iniquity.  * 4:8 Is 56:11; Mc 3:11

9 The same judgment will happen

to both people and priests.  * 4:9 Is 24:2; Jr 5:31

I will punish them for their ways  * 4:9 Hs 8:13; 9:9

and repay them for their deeds.

10 They will eat but not be satisfied;  * 4:10 Lv 26:26; Is 65:13; Mc 6:14

they will be promiscuous  * 4:10 Hs 7:4 but not multiply.

For they have abandoned their devotion to the  Lord.  * 4:10 Hs 9:17

11 Promiscuity,  * 4:11 Hs 5:4 wine, and new wine

take away one’s understanding.  * 4:11 Is 5:12; 28:7

12 My people consult their wooden idols,  * 4:12 Is 44:19; Jr 2:27

and their divining rods inform them.

For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;  * 4:12 Hs 5:4

they act promiscuously  * 4:12 Hs 9:1

in disobedience to  * 4:12 Lit promiscuously from under  their God.

13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops,  * 4:13 Jr 3:6

and they burn offerings on the hills,  * 4:13 Hs 2:13; 11:2

and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,  * 4:13 Jr 2:20

because their shade is pleasant.

And so your daughters act promiscuously

and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

14 I 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  * 4:14 Hs 4:18; 7:4

and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.  * 4:14 Dt 23:17

People without discernment are doomed.  * 4:14 Hs 5:4

Warnings for Israel and Judah

15 Israel, if you act promiscuously,

don’t let Judah become guilty!

Do not go to Gilgal  * 4:15 Hs 9:15; 12:1

or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,  * 4:15 = House of Wickedness,* 4:15 1Kg 12:28–29; Hs 5:8; 10:5,8

and do not swear an oath: As the  Lord  lives!  * 4:15 Jr 5:2; 44:26

16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.  * 4:16 Ps 78:8

Can the Lord now shepherd them

like a lamb in an open meadow?  * 4:16 Is 5:17; 7:25

17 Ephraim is attached to idols;  * 4:17 Hs 13:2

leave him alone!  * 4:17 Ps 81:12; Hs 4:4

18 When their drinking is over,

they turn to promiscuity.

Israel’s leaders  * 4:18 Lit Her shields; Ps 47:9; 89:18 fervently love disgrace.  * 4:18 Hb obscure

19 A wind with its wings will carry them off,  * 4:19 Lit wind will bind it in its wings,* 4:19 Hs 12:1; 13:5

and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.