Hosea 4

⁴ Yet let no one ^[e]find fault, and let none offer reproof;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
⁵ So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

⁷ The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
⁸ They feed on the ^[f]sin of My people
And direct their desire toward their iniquity.
⁹ And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
¹⁰ They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have ^[g]stopped giving heed to the Lord.

¹¹ Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the ^[h]understanding.
¹² My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,
And they have played the harlot, departing ^[i]from their God.
¹³ They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains
And ^[j]burn incense on the hills,
Under oak, poplar and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the harlot
And your ^[k]brides commit adultery.
¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot
Or your ^[l]brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves go apart with harlots
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ^[m]ruined.

¹⁵ Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Do not let Judah become guilty;
Also do not go to Gilgal,
Or go up to Beth-aven
And take the oath:
“As the Lord lives!”
¹⁶ Since Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn heifer,
^[n]Can the Lord now pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
¹⁷ Ephraim is joined to idols;
Let him alone.
¹⁸ Their liquor gone,
They play the harlot continually;
Their ^[o]rulers dearly love shame.
¹⁹ The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.