1 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; for there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, — they break out; and blood toucheth blood. 3 For this shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, and let no man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 And thou shalt stumble by day; and the prophet also shall stumble with thee by night: and I will destroy thy mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; for thou hast rejected knowledge, and I will reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. 7 As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame. 8 They eat the sin of my people, and their soul longeth for their iniquity. 9 And it shall be as the people so the priest; and I will visit their ways upon them, and recompense to them their doings; 10 and they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: for they have left off taking heed to Jehovah. 11 Fornication, and wine, and new wine take away the heart. 12 My people ask counsel of their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredoms causeth [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 oak and poplar and terebinth, because the shade thereof is good; therefore your daughters play the harlot and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your daughters-in-law for their committing adultery; for they themselves go aside with harlots, and they sacrifice with prostitutes: and the people that doth not understand shall come to ruin. 15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah trespass; and come ye not unto Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven, nor swear [As] Jehovah liveth! 16 For Israel is refractory as an untractable heifer; now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a wide [pasture]. 17 — Ephraim is joined to idols: leave him alone. 18 Their drink is sour; they give themselves up to whoredom; her great men passionately love [their] shame. 19 The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Hosea 4 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (19)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Jeremiah 4:22; Micah 6:2; Isaiah 3:13–14; 1 Corinthians 15:34; Jeremiah 5:4
- 2 Hosea 6:9; Micah 7:2; Jeremiah 6:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; Jeremiah 7:6–10
- 3 Zephaniah 1:3; Isaiah 24:4–12; Nahum 1:4; Ezekiel 38:20; Amos 5:16
- 4 Deuteronomy 17:12; Ezekiel 3:26; Hosea 4:17; Jeremiah 18:18; Matthew 7:3–6
- 5 Hosea 2:2; Jeremiah 15:8; Galatians 4:26; Zechariah 13:2; Ezekiel 16:44–45
- 6 Isaiah 5:13; Proverbs 19:2; Hosea 6:6; 2 Corinthians 4:3–6; Hosea 4:1
- 7 Hosea 13:6; Philippians 3:19; 1 Samuel 2:30; Hosea 4:10; Malachi 2:9
- 8 Micah 3:11; Isaiah 56:11; Titus 1:11; 1 Samuel 2:29; Leviticus 6:26
- 9 Jeremiah 5:31; Isaiah 24:2; Matthew 15:14; Hosea 1:4; Jeremiah 23:11–12
- 10 Micah 6:14; Leviticus 26:26; Haggai 1:6; Psalm 36:3; Zephaniah 1:6
- 11 Proverbs 20:1; Luke 21:34; Isaiah 28:7; Proverbs 6:32; Ecclesiastes 7:7
- 12 Jeremiah 2:27; Hosea 5:4; Habakkuk 2:19; Numbers 15:39; Deuteronomy 31:16
- 13 Jeremiah 3:6; Ezekiel 6:13; Isaiah 1:29; Amos 7:17; Jeremiah 2:20
- 14 Hosea 4:1; 1 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 4:18; Proverbs 28:5; Hosea 14:9
- 15 Hosea 9:15; Hosea 12:11; Amos 4:4; Amos 5:5; Ephesians 5:11
- 16 1 Samuel 15:11; Jeremiah 5:6; Zechariah 7:11; Jeremiah 7:24; Leviticus 26:33
- 17 Psalm 81:12; Revelation 22:11; Hosea 11:2; Hosea 4:4; Hosea 13:2
- 18 Micah 3:11; Proverbs 30:15–16; Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; Micah 7:3
- 19 Jeremiah 51:1; Jeremiah 4:11–12; Hosea 13:15; Isaiah 1:29; Jeremiah 17:13
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… it:" and "let us walk honestly as in the day." "For all things serve Thee." He said all things of some: "all" which belong to this day "serve Thee." For the ungodly of whom it is said, "I have compared thy mother unto the night," do not serve Thee.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
But sin also is called spirit, as I have already said; only in another and opposite sense, as when it is said, The spirit of whoredom caused them to err.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)