Hosea · Majority Standard Bible
Hosea 4 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
1 Hear Yahweh’s word, you children of Israel, for Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
2 There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
3 Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells in it will waste away, with all living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; yes, the fish of the sea also die.
4 But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.
4 “Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
5 You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother—
5 You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God’s law, I will also forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.
7 As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.
8 They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be like people, like priest. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
9 It will be like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and will repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves
10 They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; because they have abandoned listening to Yahweh.
11 to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding.
11 Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
12 My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.
12 My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have been unfaithful to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, nor your brides when they commit adultery; because the men consort with prostitutes, and they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes; so the people without understanding will come to ruin.
15 Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
15 “Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet don’t let Judah offend; and don’t come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
16 For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
17 Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone!
18 When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.
18 Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.
19 The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
19 The wind has wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be disappointed because of their sacrifices.
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)