Hosea 4

1Hear the word of the LORD, people of Israel, for the LORD has a charge to bring against those who live in the land: there is no faithfulness, no loyal love, and no knowledge of God in the land. 2Cursing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery! They break through every limit, and one killing follows another. 3So the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea are swept away. 4Yet let no one bring a charge, and let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who contend with a priest. 5By day you will stumble, and by night the prophet will stumble with you, and I will destroy your mother. 6My people are perishing for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I reject you as my priest; since you have forgotten the instruction of your God, I too will forget your children. 7The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will turn their glory into shame. 8They feed on the sin of my people and set their appetite on their guilt. 9So it will be: like people, like priest. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10They will eat but not be satisfied; they will prostitute themselves but not increase, because they have stopped heeding the LORD. 11Prostitution, wine and new wine take away understanding. 12My people consult a piece of wood, and their stick gives them answers. A spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have prostituted themselves, leaving their God. 13They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, since their shade is good. That is why your daughters prostitute themselves and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14I will not punish your daughters for prostituting themselves, nor your daughters-in-law for committing adultery, since the men themselves slip away with prostitutes and sacrifice alongside shrine prostitutes. A people without understanding will come to ruin. 15Though you, Israel, prostitute yourself, do not let Judah become guilty. Stay away from Gilgal; do not go up to Beth-aven; and do not take the oath, “As surely as the LORD lives.” 16Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now pasture them like a lamb in an open meadow? 17Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. 18When their drinking is over, they prostitute themselves again and again; her rulers dearly love what is shameful. 19A wind has bundled her up in its wings, and they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.