Hosea 4:10-12
Living Bible
10 They will eat and still be hungry. Though they do a big business as prostitutes, they shall have no children, for they have deserted me and turned to other gods.
11 “Wine, women, and song have robbed my people of their brains. 12 For they are asking a piece of wood to tell them what to do. ‘Divine Truth’ comes to them through tea leaves![a] Longing after idols has made them foolish. For they have played the harlot, serving other gods, deserting me.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Hosea 4:12 through tea leaves, literally, “through their staff.” There is no modern parallel to this ancient practice used by sorcerers, whose predictions were based on how their staffs landed on the ground when thrown or allowed to fall.
Hosea 4:10-12
New International Version
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(A)
they will engage in prostitution(B) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(C) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(D)
old wine(E) and new wine
take away their understanding.(F)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(G)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(H)
A spirit of prostitution(I) leads them astray;(J)
they are unfaithful(K) to their God.
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