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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Hosea 4 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/hosea/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" 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title="Hosea 3">◄</a> Hosea 4 <a href="../hosea/5.htm" title="Hosea 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/hosea/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">The Charge Against Israel</p><div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Hear the word of the <span class="name">Lord</span>, you Israelites,</p><p class="line2">because the <span class="name">Lord</span> has a charge to bring</p><p class="line2">against you who live in the land:</p><p class="line1">“There is no faithfulness, no love,</p><p class="line2">no acknowledgment of God in the land.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>There is only cursing, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="That is, to pronounce a curse on">a</a></sup></span> lying and murder,</p><p class="line2">stealing and adultery;</p><p class="line1">they break all bounds,</p><p class="line2">and bloodshed follows bloodshed.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Because of this the land dries up,</p><p class="line2">and all who live in it waste away;</p><p class="line1">the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky</p><p class="line2">and the fish in the sea are swept away.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>“But let no one bring a charge,</p><p class="line2">let no one accuse another,</p><p class="line1">for your people are like those</p><p class="line2">who bring charges against a priest.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>You stumble day and night,</p><p class="line2">and the prophets stumble with you.</p><p class="line1">So I will destroy your mother—</p> <p class="line2"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line1">“Because you have rejected knowledge,</p><p class="line2">I also reject you as my priests;</p><p class="line1">because you have ignored the law of your God,</p><p class="line2">I also will ignore your children.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>The more priests there were,</p><p class="line2">the more they sinned against me;</p><p class="line2">they exchanged their glorious God <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; I will exchange their glory">b</a></sup></span> for something disgraceful.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>They feed on the sins of my people</p><p class="line2">and relish their wickedness.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>And it will be: Like people, like priests.</p><p class="line2">I will punish both of them for their ways</p><p class="line2">and repay them for their deeds.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>“They will eat but not have enough;</p><p class="line2">they will engage in prostitution but not flourish,</p><p class="line1">because they have deserted the <span class="name">Lord</span></p><p class="line2">to give themselves <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>to prostitution;</p><p class="line1">old wine and new wine</p><p class="line2">take away their understanding.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>My people consult a wooden idol,</p><p class="line2">and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.</p><p class="line1">A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;</p><p class="line2">they are unfaithful to their God.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>They sacrifice on the mountaintops</p><p class="line2">and burn offerings on the hills,</p><p class="line1">under oak, poplar and terebinth,</p><p class="line2">where the shade is pleasant.</p><p class="line1">Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution</p><p class="line2">and your daughters-in-law to adultery.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>“I will not punish your daughters</p><p class="line2">when they turn to prostitution,</p><p class="line1">nor your daughters-in-law</p><p class="line2">when they commit adultery,</p><p class="line1">because the men themselves consort with harlots</p><p class="line2">and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—</p><p class="line2">a people without understanding will come to ruin!</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>“Though you, Israel, commit adultery,</p><p class="line2">do not let Judah become guilty.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line1">“Do not go to Gilgal;</p><p class="line2">do not go up to Beth Aven. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).">c</a></sup></span> </p><p class="line2">And do not swear, ‘As surely as the <span class="name">Lord</span> lives!’</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>The Israelites are stubborn,</p><p class="line2">like a stubborn heifer.</p><p class="line1">How then can the <span class="name">Lord</span> pasture them</p><p class="line2">like lambs in a meadow?</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Ephraim is joined to idols;</p><p class="line2">leave him alone!</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Even when their drinks are gone,</p><p class="line2">they continue their prostitution;</p><p class="line2">their rulers dearly love shameful ways.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>A whirlwind will sweep them away,</p><p class="line2">and their sacrifices will bring them shame.</p></div><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">2</span> <span class="footnotebot">That is, to pronounce a curse on</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">7</span> <span class="footnotebot">Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text <i>me;<br />     I will exchange their glory</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">15</span> <span class="footnotebot"><i>Beth Aven</i> means <i>house of wickedness</i> (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means <i>house of God</i>).</span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 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