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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 ESV</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">English Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/esv/nas/hosea/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div></a><div class="chap"><p class="heading">The <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> Accuses Israel</p><span class="block-indent"><p class="line-group"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">Hear the word of the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span>, O children of Israel,</span><br /><span class="indent">for the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.</span><br /><span class="ln-group">There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,</span><br /><span class="indent">and no knowledge of God in the land;</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;</span><br /><span class="indent">they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">Therefore the land mourns,</span><br /><span class="indent">and all who dwell in it languish,</span><br /><span class="ln-group">and also the beasts of the field</span><br /><span class="indent">and the birds of the heavens,</span><br /><span class="indent">and even the fish of the sea are taken away.</span></p> <p class="line-group"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">Yet let no one contend,</span><br /><span class="indent">and let none accuse,</span><br /><span class="indent">for with you is my contention, O priest.<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or for your people are like those who contend with the priest">a</a></sup></span></span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">You shall stumble by day;</span><br /><span class="indent">the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;</span><br /><span class="indent">and I will destroy your mother.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;</span><br /><span class="indent">because you have rejected knowledge,</span><br /><span class="indent">I reject you from being a priest to me.</span><br /><span class="ln-group">And since you have forgotten the law of your God,</span><br /><span class="indent">I also will forget your children.</span></p> <p class="line-group"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">The more they increased,</span><br /><span class="indent">the more they sinned against me;</span><br /><span class="indent">I will change their glory into shame.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">They feed on the sin<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or sin offering">b</a></sup></span> of my people;</span><br /><span class="indent">they are greedy for their iniquity.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">And it shall be like people, like priest;</span><br /><span class="indent">I will punish them for their ways</span><br /><span class="indent">and repay them for their deeds.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">They shall eat, but not be satisfied;</span><br /><span class="indent">they shall play the whore, but not multiply,</span><br /><span class="ln-group">because they have forsaken the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span></span><br /><span class="indent">to cherish <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>whoredom, wine, and new wine,</span><br /><span class="indent">which take away the understanding.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">My people inquire of a piece of wood,</span><br /><span class="indent">and their walking staff gives them oracles.</span><br /><span class="ln-group">For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,</span><br /><span class="indent">and they have left their God to play the whore.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains</span><br /><span class="indent">and burn offerings on the hills,</span><br /><span class="ln-group">under oak, poplar, and terebinth,</span><br /><span class="indent">because their shade is good.</span><br /><span class="ln-group">Therefore your daughters play the whore,</span><br /><span class="indent">and your brides commit adultery.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,</span><br /><span class="indent">nor your brides when they commit adultery;</span><br /><span class="ln-group">for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes</span><br /><span class="indent">and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,</span><br /><span class="ln-group">and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.</span></p> <p class="line-group"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">Though you play the whore, O Israel,</span><br /><span class="indent">let not Judah become guilty.</span><br /><span class="ln-group">Enter not into Gilgal,</span><br /><span class="indent">nor go up to Beth-aven,</span><br /><span class="indent">and swear not, “As the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> lives.”</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">Like a stubborn heifer,</span><br /><span class="indent">Israel is stubborn;</span><br /><span class="ln-group">can the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> now feed them</span><br /><span class="indent">like a lamb in a broad pasture?</span></p> <p class="line-group"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">Ephraim is joined to idols;</span><br /><span class="indent">leave him alone.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;</span><br /><span class="indent">their rulers<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Hebrew shields">c</a></sup></span> dearly love shame.</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/hosea/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">A wind has wrapped them<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Hebrew her">d</a></sup></span> in its wings,</span><br /><span class="indent">and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.</span></p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="footnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">4</span> Or <i><span class="catch-word">for</span> your people are like those who contend with the priest</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">8</span> Or <i><span class="catch-word">sin</span> offering</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">18</span> Hebrew <i>shields</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">d</span> <span class="fnverse">19</span> Hebrew <i>her</i><br /></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">ESV Text Edition® (2016).<br /><br />The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by <a href="http://www.crossway.org/home/esv/">Crossway Bibles</a>, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.<br /><br />The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. 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