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The Blue Letter Bible

Hosea 4 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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God’s Case against Israel
Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:1 -

Hear the word of the LORD, people of Israel,

for the LORD has a case

against the inhabitants of the land:

There is no truth, no faithful love,

and no knowledge of God in the land!

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:2 -

Cursing, lying, murder, stealing,

and adultery are rampant;

one act of bloodshed follows another.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:3 -

For this reason the land mourns,

and everyone who lives in it languishes,

along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky;

even the fish of the sea disappear.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:4 -

But let no one dispute; let no one argue,

for my case is against you priests.[fn][fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:5 -

You will stumble by day;

the prophet will also stumble with you by night.

And I will destroy your mother.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:6 -

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I will reject you from serving as my priest.

Since you have forgotten the law of your God,

I will also forget your sons.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:7 -

The more they multiplied,

the more they sinned against me.

I[fn] will change their[fn] honor into disgrace.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:8 -

They feed on the sin[fn] of my people;

they have an appetite for their iniquity.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:9 -

The same judgment will happen

to both people and priests.

I will punish them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:10 -

They will eat but not be satisfied;

they will be promiscuous but not multiply.

For they have abandoned their devotion to the LORD.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:11 -

Promiscuity, wine, and new wine

take away one’s understanding.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:12 -

My people consult their wooden idols,

and their divining rods inform them.

For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;

they act promiscuously

in disobedience to[fn] their God.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:13 -

They sacrifice on the mountaintops,

and they burn offerings on the hills,

and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,

because their shade is pleasant.

And so your daughters act promiscuously

and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:14 -

I will not punish your daughters

when they act promiscuously

or your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery,

for the men themselves go off with prostitutes

and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.

People without discernment are doomed.

Warnings for Israel and Judah
Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:15 -

Israel, if you act promiscuously,

don’t let Judah become guilty!

Do not go to Gilgal

or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,[fn]

and do not swear an oath: As the LORD lives!

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:16 -

For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.

Can the LORD now shepherd them

like a lamb in an open meadow?

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:17 -

Ephraim is attached to idols;

leave him alone!

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:18 -

When their drinking is over,

they turn to promiscuity.

Israel’s leaders[fn] fervently love disgrace.[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:19 -

A wind with its wings will carry them off,[fn]

and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.

CSB Footnotes
Text emended; MT reads argue, and your people are like those contending with a priest
Hb obscure
Alt Hb tradition, Syr, Tg read They
Alt Hb tradition reads my
Or sin offerings
Lit promiscuously from under
= House of Wickedness
Lit Her shields ; Ps 47:9; 89:18
Hb obscure
Lit wind will bind it in its wings
CSB

Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Additional information is provided here.

For more information on this translation, see the CSB Preface.

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