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Hosea 4
1599 Geneva Bible
Hosea 4
1599 Geneva Bible
4 A complaint against the people and the priests of Israel.
1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord [a]hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and whoring, they break out, and [b]blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein shall be cut off, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the heaven, and also the fishes of the sea shall be taken away.
4 Yet [c]let none rebuke, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that rebuke the Priest.
5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the [d]day, and the Prophet shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy [e]mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because [f]thou hast refused knowledge, I will also refuse thee that thou shalt be no Priest to me: and seeing [g]thou hast forgotten the Law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were [h]increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8 [i]They eat up the sins of my people, and lift up their minds in their iniquity.
9 And there shall be like people like [j]priest: for I will visit their ways upon them, and reward them their deeds.
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough, they shall [k]commit adultery, and shall not increase, because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.
11 [l]Whoredom, and wine, and new wine take away their heart.
12 My [m]people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff teacheth them: for the [n]spirit of fornications hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills under the oaks, and the poplar tree, and the elm, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall be [o]harlots, and your spouses shall be whores.
14 I will not [p]visit your daughters when they are harlots: nor your spouses, when they are whores: for they themselves are separated with harlots, and sacrifice with whores: therefore the people that doth not understand, shall fall.
15 Though thou Israel, play the harlot, yet [q]let not Judah sin: come not ye unto [r]Gilgal, neither go ye up to [s]Beth Aven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
16 For Israel is rebellious as an unruly heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a [t]lamb in a large place.
17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
18 Their drunkenness stinketh: they have committed whoredom: their rulers love to say with shame, [u]Bring ye.
19 The wind hath [v]bound them up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed of their sacrifices.
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:1 Because the people would not obey the admonitions of the Prophet, he citeth them before the judgment seat of God, against whom they chiefly offended, Isa. 7:13; Zech. 12:10; Mic. 6:1, 2.
- Hosea 4:2 In every place appeareth a liberty to most heinous vices, so that one followeth in the neck of another.
- Hosea 4:4 As though he would say that it were in vain to rebuke them: for no man can abide it: yea, they will speak against the prophets and priests whose office it is chiefly to rebuke them.
- Hosea 4:5 Ye shall perish all together the one because he would not obey, and the other, because he would not admonish.
- Hosea 4:5 That is, the Synagogue wherein thou boastest.
- Hosea 4:6 That is, the Priests shall be cast off, because that for lack of knowledge, they are not able to execute their charge, and instruct others, Deut. 33:3; Mal. 2:7.
- Hosea 4:6 Meaning, the whole body of the people, which were weary with hearing the word of God.
- Hosea 4:7 The more I was beneficial unto them.
- Hosea 4:8 To wit, the Priests seek to eat the people’s offerings, and flatter them in their sins.
- Hosea 4:9 Signifying, that as they have sinned together, so shall they be punished together.
- Hosea 4:10 Showing that their wickedness shall be punished on all sorts: for though they think by the multitude of wives to have many children, yet they shall be deceived of their hope.
- Hosea 4:11 In giving themselves to pleasures, they become like brute beasts.
- Hosea 4:12 Thus he speaketh by derision in calling them his people, which now for their sins they were not: for they sought help of stocks and sticks.
- Hosea 4:12 They are carried away with a rage.
- Hosea 4:13 Because they take away God’s honor, and give it to idols: therefore he will give them up to their lusts, that they shall dishonor their own bodies, Rom. 1:28.
- Hosea 4:14 I will not correct your shame to bring you to amendment, but let you run headlong to your own damnation.
- Hosea 4:15 God complaineth that Judah is infected, and willeth them to learn to return in time.
- Hosea 4:15 For albeit the Lord had honored this place in time past by his presence, yet because it was abused by their idolatry, he would not that his people should resort thither.
- Hosea 4:15 He calleth Bethel, that is, the house of God, Beth Aven, that is, the house of iniquity, because of their abominations set up there, signifying that no place is holy, where God is not purely worshipped.
- Hosea 4:16 God will so disperse them, that they shall not remain in any certain place.
- Hosea 4:18 They are so impudent in receiving bribes, that they will command men to bring them unto them.
- Hosea 4:19 To carry them suddenly away.
Hosea 4
New International Version
Hosea 4
New International Version
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)
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying(F) and murder,(G)
stealing(H) and adultery;(I)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(J)
3 Because 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)
5 You 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.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[b](S) for something disgraceful.(T)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(U)
9 And 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 11 to prostitution;(AA)
old wine(AB) and new wine
take away their understanding.(AC)
12 My 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.
13 They 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)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(AT)
like a stubborn heifer.(AU)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(AV) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(AW) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(AX)
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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