Font Size
Hosea 4
Names of God Bible
Hosea 4
Names of God Bible
The Lord’s Legal Case against Israel
4 Listen to the word of Yahweh, you Israelites. Yahweh has brought these charges against those who live in the land:
“There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of Elohim in the land.
2 There is cursing, lying, murdering, stealing, and adultery.
People break my laws, and there is one murder after another.
3 That is why the land is drying up,
and everyone who lives in it is passing away.
Wild animals, birds, and fish are dying.
4 “No one should accuse other people or bring charges against them.
My case is against you priests.
5 During the day you stumble,
and during the night the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother, the nation of Israel.
6 I will destroy my people because they are ignorant.
You have refused to learn,
so I will refuse to let you be my priests.
You have forgotten the teachings of your Elohim,
so I will forget your children.
7 The more priests there are,
the more they sin against me.
So I will turn their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sins of my people,
and they want them to do wicked things.
9 So the priests will be punished like the people.
I will punish them for their wicked ways
and pay them back for what they have done.
10 “They will eat, but they’ll never be full.
They will have sex with prostitutes, but they’ll never have children.
They have abandoned Yahweh.
11 Prostitutes, old wine, and new wine have robbed them of their senses.
12 My people ask their wooden idols for help.
A piece of wood tells them what to do.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray.
They commit adultery
by giving themselves to other gods.
13 They offer sacrifices on mountaintops,
and they burn incense on the hills
under oaks, poplars, and other trees.
They think that these trees provide good shade.
“That is why your daughters become prostitutes,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 Yet, I will not punish your daughters when they become prostitutes
or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.
The men go to prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes.
These foolish people will be trampled.
15 “Israel, you act like a prostitute.
Don’t let Judah become guilty too.
Don’t go to Gilgal.
Don’t go to Beth Aven.
Don’t take the oath, ‘As Yahweh lives. . . .’
16 “The people of Israel are as stubborn as a bull.
How can Yahweh feed them like lambs in an open pasture?
17 The people of Ephraim have chosen to worship idols. Leave them alone!
18 When they’re done drinking their wine,
they continue to have sex with the prostitutes.
Their rulers dearly love to act shamefully.
19 The wind will carry them away in its wings,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
Hosea 4
New International Version
Hosea 4
New International Version
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge(A) to bring
against you who live in the land:(B)
“There is no faithfulness,(C) no love,
no acknowledgment(D) of God in the land.(E)
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying(F) and murder,(G)
stealing(H) and adultery;(I)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(J)
3 Because of this the land dries up,(K)
and all who live in it waste away;(L)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.(M)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.(N)
5 You stumble(O) day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(P)—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(Q)
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(R) of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[b](S) for something disgraceful.(T)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(U)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.(V)
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(W)
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(X)
they will engage in prostitution(Y) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(Z) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(AA)
old wine(AB) and new wine
take away their understanding.(AC)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(AD)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(AE)
A spirit of prostitution(AF) leads them astray;(AG)
they are unfaithful(AH) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(AI) poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.(AJ)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(AK)
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(AL)
14 “I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(AM)
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(AN)—
a people without understanding(AO) will come to ruin!(AP)
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;(AQ)
do not go up to Beth Aven.[c](AR)
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(AS)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(AT)
like a stubborn heifer.(AU)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(AV) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(AW) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(AX)
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Hosea 4
King James Version
Hosea 4
King James Version
4 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.
11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Names of God Bible (NOG)
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.