Hosea 4

1Hear the word of GOD,O people of Israel!For GOD has a caseAgainst the inhabitants of this land,Because there is no honesty and no goodnessAnd no devotion to God in the land.

2[False] swearing, dishonesty, and murder,And theft and adultery are rife;Crime follows upon crime!

3For that, the earth is withered:Everything that dwells on it languishes—Beasts of the field and birds of the sky—Even the fish of the sea perish.

4“Let no one rebuke; let no one protest!”For this, your people has a grievance against [you], O priest!

5So you shall stumble by day,And by night a prophet shall stumble as well,And I will destroy your kindred.

6My people is destroyed for the lack of devotion!Because you have rejected devotion,I reject you as My priest;Because you have spurned the teaching of your God,I, in turn, will spurn your children.

7The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me:I will change their dignity to dishonor.

8They feed on My people’s purgation offerings,And so they desire its iniquity.

9Therefore, the people shall fare like the priests:I will punish it for its conduct,I will requite it for its deeds.

10Truly, they shall eat, but not be sated;They shall swill, cf. v. 18. but not be satisfied,Because they have forsaken GOD To practice

11lechery.Wine and new wine destroyThe mind of

12My people:It consults its stick, Its rod directs it!A lecherous impulse has made them go wrong,And they have strayed from submission to their God.

13They sacrifice on the mountaintopsAnd offer on the hills,Under oaks, poplars, and terebinthsWhose shade is so pleasant.That is why their daughters fornicateAnd their daughters-in-law commit adultery!

14I will not punish their daughters for fornicatingNor their daughters-in-law for committing adultery;For they themselves turn aside with whoresAnd sacrifice with female consecrated workers, uncertain. And a people that is without sense must stumble.

15If you are a lecher, Israel—Let not Judah incur guilt—Do not come to Gilgal, Do not make pilgrimages to Beth-aven, And do not swear by GOD!

16Ah, Israel has balkedLike a stubborn cow;Therefore, GOD will graze himOn the range, like a sheep.

17Ephraim is addicted to images—Let him be.

18They drink to excess—Their liquor turns against them.They “love” beyond measure—Disgrace is the “gift”

19That the wind is bringing; They shall garner shame from their sacrifices.