Hosea 4 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God’s Controversy with Israel

4 (A)Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel,
Because the Lord has a (B)case against the inhabitants of the land,
For there is (C)no [a]faithfulness, nor [b]loyalty,
Nor (D)knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is (E)oath-taking, (F)[c]denial, (G)murder, (H)stealing, and (I)adultery.
They employ violence, so that (J)bloodshed [d]follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land (K)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 [e]disappear.

4 Yet let no one [f](L)find fault, and let no one rebuke;
For your people are like those who (M)contend with a priest.
5 So you will (N)stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your (O)mother.
6 (P)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you have (Q)rejected knowledge,
I also will (R)reject you from being My priest.
Since you have (S)forgotten the (T)Law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

7 The more they (U)multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will (V)change their glory into shame.
8 They (W)feed on the [g]sin of My people,
And (X)long for their wrongdoing.
9 And it will be, like people, (Y)like priest;
So I will (Z)punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 (AA)They will eat, but not have enough;
They will (AB)play the prostitute, but not [h]increase,
Because they (AC)gave up devoting themselves to the Lord.

11 [i]Infidelity, (AD)wine, and new wine take away the [j]understanding.
12 My people (AE)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 [k]from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the (AF)tops of the mountains
And [l](AG)burn incense on the hills,
(AH)Under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,
And your [m]brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
Or your [n]brides when they commit adultery,
Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes
And offer sacrifices with (AI)temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.

15 Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,
Judah must not become guilty;
Also you are not to go to (AJ)Gilgal,
Nor go up to Beth-aven
(AK)And take the oath:
“As the Lord lives!”
16 Since Israel is (AL)stubborn
Like a stubborn cow,
[o]Will the Lord now (AM)pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
17 Ephraim is allied with (AN)idols;
(AO)Leave him alone.
18 Their liquor is gone,
They prostitute themselves continually;
[p](AP)Their [q]rulers dearly love shame.
19 (AQ)The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be [r]put to shame because of their sacrifices.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:1 Or truth
  2. Hosea 4:1 Or kindness
  3. Hosea 4:2 I.e., of truth
  4. Hosea 4:2 Lit touches
  5. Hosea 4:3 Lit are taken away
  6. Hosea 4:4 Lit contend
  7. Hosea 4:8 Or sin offering
  8. Hosea 4:10 I.e., either in population or wealth
  9. Hosea 4:11 Or Prostitution
  10. Hosea 4:11 Lit heart
  11. Hosea 4:12 Lit from under
  12. Hosea 4:13 Or offer sacrifices
  13. Hosea 4:13 Or daughters-in-law
  14. Hosea 4:14 Or daughters-in-law
  15. Hosea 4:16 Or The Lord will now pasture...field.
  16. Hosea 4:18 Another reading is They dearly love the shame of gifts
  17. Hosea 4:18 Lit shields
  18. Hosea 4:19 Or ashamed

Cross references

  1. Hosea 4:1 : Hos 5:1
  2. Hosea 4:1 : Hos 12:2; Mic 6:2
  3. Hosea 4:1 : Is 59:4; Jer 7:28
  4. Hosea 4:1 : Jer 4:22
  5. Hosea 4:2 : Deut 5:11; Hos 10:4
  6. Hosea 4:2 : Hos 7:3; 10:13; 11:12
  7. Hosea 4:2 : Gen 4:8; Hos 6:9
  8. Hosea 4:2 : Deut 5:19; Hos 7:1
  9. Hosea 4:2 : Deut 5:18; Hos 7:4
  10. Hosea 4:2 : Hos 6:8; 12:14
  11. Hosea 4:3 : Is 24:4; 33:9; Amos 5:16; Zeph 1:3
  12. Hosea 4:4 : Ezek 3:26; Amos 5:10, 13
  13. Hosea 4:4 : Deut 17:12
  14. Hosea 4:5 : Ezek 14:3, 7; Hos 5:5
  15. Hosea 4:5 : Jer 15:8; Hos 2:2, 5
  16. Hosea 4:6 : Is 5:13
  17. Hosea 4:6 : Hos 4:14; Mal 2:7, 8
  18. Hosea 4:6 : Zech 11:8, 9, 15-17
  19. Hosea 4:6 : Hos 2:13; 8:14; 13:6
  20. Hosea 4:6 : Hos 8:1, 12
  21. Hosea 4:7 : Hos 10:1; 13:6
  22. Hosea 4:7 : Hab 2:16
  23. Hosea 4:8 : Hos 10:13
  24. Hosea 4:8 : Is 56:11; Mic 3:11
  25. Hosea 4:9 : Is 24:2; Jer 5:31
  26. Hosea 4:9 : Hos 8:13; 9:9
  27. Hosea 4:10 : Lev 26:26; Is 65:13; Mic 6:14
  28. Hosea 4:10 : Hos 7:4
  29. Hosea 4:10 : Hos 9:17
  30. Hosea 4:11 : Prov 20:1; Is 5:12; 28:7
  31. Hosea 4:12 : Is 44:19; Jer 2:27
  32. Hosea 4:13 : Jer 3:6
  33. Hosea 4:13 : Hos 2:13; 11:2
  34. Hosea 4:13 : Is 1:29; Jer 2:20
  35. Hosea 4:14 : Deut 23:17
  36. Hosea 4:15 : Hos 9:15; 12:11
  37. Hosea 4:15 : Jer 5:2; 44:26; Amos 8:14
  38. Hosea 4:16 : Ps 78:8
  39. Hosea 4:16 : Is 5:17; 7:25
  40. Hosea 4:17 : Hos 13:2
  41. Hosea 4:17 : Ps 81:12; Hos 4:4
  42. Hosea 4:18 : Mic 3:11
  43. Hosea 4:19 : Hos 12:1; 13:15

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