Hosea 4

1 Hear the word of the Lord, children of Israel, for the Lord has a case against those who live in the land. There is no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the land.

2 Cursing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery have flooded the land, and they mingle blood with blood.

3 Therefore the land will mourn and everyone living in it will waste away, along with the wild animals, the crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. Even the fish of the sea will fail.

4 “Let no one bring a case or accuse another, for my people are like a priest who is spoken against.

5 You will grow weak by day, and the prophet with you will grow weak. I have compared your mother to night.

6 My people have become like those without knowledge. Because you rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as priest to me. Because you forgot the law of your God, I too will forget your children.

7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against me. I will turn their glory into dishonor.

8 They eat the sins of my people and set their souls on their wrongdoing.

9 The priest will be like the people. I will punish him for his ways and repay him for his plans.

10 They will eat but never be filled. They went whoring but will not prosper, because they stopped paying attention to the Lord.

11 Whoring, wine, and strong drink have captured the heart of my people.

12 They ask questions through signs, and their staffs report answers to them. A spirit of whoring led them astray, and they went whoring away from their God.

13 They sacrificed on the mountain peaks and offered sacrifices on the hills, under oak, poplar, and shade trees, because their shade was pleasant. Therefore your daughters will go whoring, and your daughters-in-law will commit adultery.

14 I will not punish your daughters when they go whoring or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves mix with prostitutes and sacrifice with women who have been initiated. and the people who understand become entangled with a prostitute.

15 But you, Israel, do not be ignorant. People of Judah, do not enter Gilgal, do not go up to House of On, and do not swear, ‘As the Lord lives.’

16 Israel ran wild like a maddened heifer. Now the Lord will pasture them like a lamb in open country.

17 Ephraim joined himself to idols and placed stumbling blocks in his own path.

18 He chose the Canaanites. They went deeply into whoring and loved dishonor because of their insolence.

19 You are a swirling wind in her wings, and they will be ashamed because of their altars.”