Hos 4 | Noyes | STEP | Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel! For Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; For there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

‏ Hosea 4

1 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel! For Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; For there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 Perjury, and falsehood, and murder, And theft, and adultery have broken forth, And blood reacheth to blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, And every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, Together with the beasts of the forest, and the birds of heaven; Yea, even the fishes of the sea shall perish. 4 Yet let no man rebuke, and let no man reprove; For thy people are like those that contend with the priest, 5 Therefore shalt thou Fall by day, And the prophet shall fall with thee by night, And I will destroy thy mother. 6 My people is destroyed for lack of knowledge; Since thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, so that thou shalt no more be my priest; Since thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. 7 As they have become great, so have they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame. 8 They feed upon the sins of my people, And incline their hearts to their iniquity. 9 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; I will punish them for their ways, And requite them for their doings. 10 They shall eat and shall not be satisfied; They shall commit fornication, and shall not increase, For they have left off giving heed to Jehovah. 11 Fornication and wine and new wine take away the understanding; 12 My people ask counsel of their stocks, And their staff revealeth to them. For the spirit of fornication causeth them to err; Yea, they commit fornication, forsaking their God. 13 On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, And on the hills they burn incense, Under the oak, and the poplar, and the terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters commit fornication, And your daughters-in-law commit adultery; 14 I will not punish your daughters, when they commit fornication, Nor your daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery; For ye yourselves go aside with harlots, And sacrifice with prostitutes; Therefore the people that hath not understanding shall fall. 15 Though thou play the harlot, O Israel, Yet let not Judah offend! Come ye not to Gilgal, Neither go ye up to Bethaven. And swear ye not, saying, As Jehovah liveth! 16 For like a refractory heifer is Israel become refractory, Therefore will Jehovah feed them, like a lamb in a wide place. 17 Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone! 18 When their carousal is over, They give themselves up to lasciviousness; Their rulers love shame. 19 The wind hath bound them up with its wings, And they shall be brought to shame on account of their sacrifices.