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Hosea 4 New International Version (NIV)

The Charge Against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
    because the Lord has a charge^(A) to bring
    against you who live in the land:^(B)
“There is no faithfulness,^(C) no love,
    no acknowledgment^(D) of God in the land.^(E)
²There is only cursing,^[a] lying^(F) and murder,^(G)
    stealing^(H) and adultery;^(I)
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.^(J)
³Because of this the land dries up,^(K)
    and all who live in it waste away;^(L)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.^(M)

⁴“But let no one bring a charge,
    let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
    who bring charges against a priest.^(N)
⁵You stumble^(O) day and night,
    and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother^(P)—
⁶    my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^(Q)

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law^(R) of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.
⁷The more priests there were,
    the more they sinned against me;
    they exchanged their glorious God^[b]^(S) for something disgraceful.^(T)
⁸They feed on the sins of my people
    and relish their wickedness.^(U)
⁹And it will be: Like people, like priests.^(V)
    I will punish both of them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.^(W)

¹⁰“They will eat but not have enough;^(X)
    they will engage in prostitution^(Y) but not flourish,
because they have deserted^(Z) the Lord
    to give themselves ¹¹to prostitution;^(AA)
old wine^(AB) and new wine
    take away their understanding.^(AC)
¹²My people consult a wooden idol,^(AD)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.^(AE)
A spirit of prostitution^(AF) leads them astray;^(AG)
    they are unfaithful^(AH) to their God.
¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,^(AI) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.^(AJ)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^(AK)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^(AL)

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters
    when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots^(AM)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes^(AN)—
    a people without understanding^(AO) will come to ruin!^(AP)

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^(AQ)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.^[c]^(AR)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’^(AS)
¹⁶The Israelites are stubborn,^(AT)
    like a stubborn heifer.^(AU)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs^(AV) in a meadow?
¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone!
¹⁸Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
¹⁹A whirlwind^(AW) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^(AX)

New International Version (NIV)