Hosea
4 Hear the word of Jehovah, O people of Israel,
For Jehovah has a legal case against the inhabitants of the land,+
Because there is no truth nor loyal love nor knowledge of God in the land.+
2 False oaths and lying+ and murder+
And stealing and adultery+ are widespread,
And one act of bloodshed follows another act of bloodshed.+
3 That is why the land will mourn+
And every inhabitant in it will waste away;
The wild animals of the field and the birds of the heavens,
Even the fish of the sea, will perish.
4 “However, let no man contend or reprove,+
For your people are like those who contend against a priest.+
5 So you will stumble in broad daylight,
And the prophet will stumble with you, as if it were night.
And I will silence* your mother.
6 My people will be silenced,* because there is no knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,+
I will also reject you from serving as my priest;
And because you have forgotten the law* of your God,+
I myself will forget your sons.
7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me.+
I will change their glory into disgrace.*
8 They feed on the sin of my people,
And they are greedy for* their error.
9 It will be the same for the people as for the priest;
I will call them to account for their ways,
And I will bring on them the consequences of their actions.+
10 They will eat but not be satisfied.+
They will be promiscuous,* but they will not increase,+
Because they have shown no regard for Jehovah.
12 My people consult their wooden idols,
Doing what their staff* tells them;
Because the spirit of prostitution* causes them to go astray,
And by their prostitution* they refuse to submit to their God.
13 On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice,+
And on the hills they make sacrifices smoke,
Under oak trees and storax trees and every big tree,+
Because their shade is good.
That is why your daughters commit prostitution*
And your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 I will not hold an accounting against your daughters because of their prostitution,*
And against your daughters-in-law because of their adultery.
For the men go off with the harlots
And sacrifice with the temple prostitutes;
Such a people without understanding+ will come to ruin.
16 For like a stubborn cow, Israel has become stubborn.+
Will Jehovah now shepherd them like a young ram in an open pasture?*
17 Eʹphra·im is joined to idols.+
Let him alone!
And her rulers* dearly love dishonor.+
19 The wind will wrap her* in its wings,
And they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.”