HOSEA 4 [†]  k Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel,

for  l the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,

and  m no knowledge of God in the land;

2  n there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;

they break all bounds, and  o bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3[†] Therefore  p the land mourns,

and all who dwell in it languish,

 q and also the beasts of the field

and the birds of the heavens,

 r and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

4[†]  s Yet let no one contend,

and let none accuse,

for with you is  t my contention, O priest. [1]

5[^][†] You shall stumble by day;

the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;

and I will destroy  u your mother.

6[†] My people are destroyed  v for lack of knowledge;

 w because you have rejected knowledge,

I reject you  x from being a priest to me.

And since you have forgotten the law of your God,

 y I also will forget your children.

7  z The more they increased,

the more they sinned against me;

 a I will change their glory into shame.

8[†]  b They feed on the sin [2] of my people;

they are greedy for their iniquity.

9  c And it shall be like people, like priest;

I will punish them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.

10[^][†]  d They shall eat, but not be satisfied;

they shall play the whore, but not multiply,

because they have forsaken the LORD

to cherish 11whoredom, wine, and new wine,

which  e take away the understanding.

12[†] My people  f inquire of a piece of wood,

and their walking staff gives them oracles.

For  g a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,

and they have left their God to play the whore.

13  h They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains

and burn offerings on the hills,

 i under oak, poplar, and terebinth,

because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the whore,

and your brides commit adultery.

14[†] I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,

nor your brides when they commit adultery;

for  j the men themselves go aside with prostitutes

and sacrifice with  k cult prostitutes,

and a people  l without understanding shall come to ruin.

15[†] Though you play the whore, O  m Israel,

let not  m Judah become guilty.

 n Enter not into  o Gilgal,

nor go up to  p Beth-aven,

and swear not, “As the LORD lives.”

16 Like a stubborn heifer,

Israel is stubborn;

can the LORD now feed them

like a lamb in a broad pasture?

17[†]  q Ephraim is joined to idols;

 r leave him alone.

18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;

 s their rulers [3] dearly love shame.

19[†]  t A wind has wrapped them [4] in its wings,

and they shall  u be ashamed because of their sacrifices.