God's Judgment on Israel
Hosea 4, verse 1. Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord has a judgment for the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. Hosea 4, verse 2. Cursing and lying, murder and theft And adultery gushed forth in the land, And blood is mingled with blood. Hosea 4, verse 3. Therefore the land shall mourn And be diminished with all the things that dwell in it: The wild beasts of the field, the reptiles of the earth, And the birds of the sky, And the fish of the sea shall come to an end; Hosea 4, verse 4. That neither may anyone judge, nor analyze another; But my people are as a priest who is spoken against. Hosea 4, verse 5. “Thus you shall be weak by day, And the prophet shall be weak with you; I have compared your mother to the night. Hosea 4, verse 6. My people are like as those who have no knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being a priest to Me; And because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4, verse 7. According to their multitude, So they sinned against Me; I will turn their glory into dishonor. Hosea 4, verse 8. They will eat the sins of My people And take away their lives because of their wrongdoings. Hosea 4, verse 9. The priest shall also be as the people; So I will punish him for his ways And repay him for his counsels. Hosea 4, verse 10. They shall eat and not be satisfied; They have gone a-whoring and shall by no means prosper, Because they have abandoned holding fast to the Lord.
Israel's Idolatry
Hosea 4, verse 11. “The heart of My people has gladly engaged In fornication, wine, and strong drink. Hosea 4, verse 12. They asked counsel by means of signs And they reported answers to them by their staves. They have gone astray in a spirit of whoredom And grievously gone a-whoring from their God. Hosea 4, verse 13. They have sacrificed on the tops of the mountains, And on the hills they have sacrificed Under the oak and poplar And under the shady tree, Because their shade was good. Therefore your daughters shall go a-whoring, And your daughters-in-law shall commit adultery. Hosea 4, verse 14. But I will not show care for your daughters When they commit fornication, Nor your daughters-in-law When they commit adultery; For they mingled themselves with harlots And sacrificed with the initiated ones; And the people who understood Entangled themselves with a harlot. Hosea 4, verse 15. “But you, O Israel, be not ignorant, And do not go, men of Judah, to Gilgal; And do not go up to Beth Aven Nor swear by the living Lord. Hosea 4, verse 16. For Israel was maddened like a mad heifer; Now the Lord will feed them Like a lamb in a wide place. Hosea 4, verse 17. Ephraim, joined with idols, Has laid stumbling blocks in his own way. Hosea 4, verse 18. He has chosen the Canaanites; They have grievously gone a-whoring; They have loved dishonor through her rudeness. Hosea 4, verse 19. You are a blast of wind in her wings, And they shall be ashamed because of their altars.