Hosea 4 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

God’s Charge Against Israel

The LORD’s Controversy with Israel

Hos 4:1Hear the word of the LORD,
You children of Israel,
For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.

Hos 4:2

Hos 4:2By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

Hos 4:3

Hos 4:3Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

Hos 4:4

Hos 4:4“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Hos 4:5

Hos 4:5Therefore you shall stumble in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.

Hos 4:6

Hos 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

Hos 4:7

Hos 4:7“The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I will change[fn] their glory[fn] into shame.

Hos 4:8

Hos 4:8They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.

Hos 4:9

Hos 4:9And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds.

Hos 4:10

Hos 4:10For they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the LORD.

The Idolatry of Israel

Hos 4:11

Hos 4:11“Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart.

Hos 4:12

Hos 4:12My people ask counsel from their wooden idols,
And their staff informs them.
For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.

Hos 4:13

Hos 4:13They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters commit harlotry,
And your brides commit adultery.

Hos 4:14

Hos 4:14“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,
Nor your brides when they commit adultery;
For the men themselves go apart with harlots,
And offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot.[fn]
Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

Hos 4:15

Hos 4:15“Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
Do not come up to Gilgal,
Nor go up to Beth Aven,
Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the LORD lives’—

Hos 4:16

Hos 4:16“For Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the LORD will let them forage
Like a lamb in open country.

Hos 4:17

Hos 4:17“Ephraim is joined to idols,
Let him alone.

Hos 4:18

Hos 4:18Their drink is rebellion,
They commit harlotry continually.
Her rulers dearly[fn] love dishonor.

Hos 4:19

Hos 4:19The wind has wrapped her up in its wings,
And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(4:7)

Following Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate; scribal tradition, Syriac, and Targum read They will change.

(4:7)

Following Masoretic Text, Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; scribal tradition reads My glory.

(4:14)

Compare Deuteronomy 23:18

(4:18)

Hebrew is difficult; a Jewish tradition reads Her rulers shamefully love, ‘Give!’

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For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

Hosea Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Hosea 4 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

NKJV Footnotes

Hosea Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

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