Passage

Hosea 4

Book: Hosea · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2. There is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4. Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5. And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother. 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. 7. As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame. 8. They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity. 9. And it shall be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and will requite them their doings. 10. And they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall play the harlot, and shall not increase; because they have left off taking heed to Jehovah. 11. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the understanding. 12. My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, departing from under their God. 13. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery. 14. I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go apart with harlots, and they sacrifice with the prostitutes; and the people that doth not understand shall be overthrown. 15. Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, As Jehovah liveth. 16. For Israel hath behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer: now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. 18. Their drink is become sour; they play the harlot continually; her rulers dearly love shame. 19. The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be put to shame because of their sacrifices." (Hosea 4:1-19, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Hear Yahweh’s word, you children of Israel; for Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2. There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed. 3. Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells therein will waste away. all living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; yes, the fish of the sea also die. 4. “Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; For your people are like those who bring charges against a priest. 5. You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God’s law, I will also forget your children. 7. As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame. 8. They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity. 9. It will be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and will repay them for their deeds. 10. They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh. 11. Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding. 12. My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have been unfaithful to their God. 13. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides commit adultery. 14. I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, nor your brides when they commit adultery; because the men consort with prostitutes, and they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes; so the people without understanding will come to ruin. 15. “Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet don’t let Judah offend; and don’t come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’ 16. For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow. 17. Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone! 18. Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way. 19. The wind has wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be disappointed because of their sacrifices." (Hosea 4:1-19, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD 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 committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. ^{blood: Heb. bloods} 3. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. ^{destroy: Heb. cut off} 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. ^{destroyed: Heb. cut off} 7. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. 8. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. ^{set: Heb. lift up their soul to} 9. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. ^{punish: Heb. visit upon} ^{reward: Heb. cause to return} 10. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. 11. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. 12. My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms 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 oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. 14. I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall. ^{I will not: or, Shall I not} ^{fall: or, be punished} 15. Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. 16. For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17. Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. 18. Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. ^{sour: Heb. gone} ^{rulers: Heb. shields} 19. The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices." (Hosea 4:1-19, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. 'Hear a word of Jehovah, sons of Israel, For a strife [is] to Jehovah with inhabitants of the land, For there is no truth, nor kindness, Nor knowledge of God, in the land, 2. Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery, have increased, And blood against blood hath touched. 3. Therefore mourn doth the land, And weak is every dweller in it, With the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the fishes of the sea, they are removed. 4. Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people [are] as those striving with a priest. 5. And thou hast stumbled in the day, And stumbled hath also a prophet with thee in the night, And I have cut off thy mother. 6. Cut off have been My people for lack of knowledge, Because thou knowledge hast rejected, I reject thee from being priest to Me, And thou forgettest the law of thy God, I forget thy sons, I also! 7. According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, Their honour into shame I change. 8. The sin of My people they do eat, And unto their iniquity lift up their soul. 9. And it hath been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it. 10. And they have eaten, and are not satisfied, They have gone a-whoring, and increase not, For they have left off taking heed to Jehovah. 11. Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take the heart, 12. My people at its staff asketh and its rod declareth to it, For a spirit of whoredoms hath caused to err, And they go a-whoring from under their God. 13. On tops of the mountains they do sacrifice, And on the hills they make perfume, Under oak, and poplar, and terebinth, For good [is] its shade. 14. Therefore commit whoredom do your daughters, And your spouses commit adultery, I do not see after your daughters when they commit whoredom, And after your spouses when they commit adultery, For they with the harlots are separated, And with the whores they do sacrifice, A people that doth not understand kicketh. 15. Though a harlot thou [art], O Israel, Let not Judah become guilty, And come not ye in to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-Aven, Nor swear ye, Jehovah liveth. 16. For as a refractory heifer hath Israel turned aside, Now doth Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17. Joined to idols [is] Ephraim, let him alone. 18. Sour [is] their drink, They have gone diligently a-whoring, Her protectors have loved shame thoroughly. 19. Distressed her hath wind with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!" (Hosea 4:1-19, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Lying Spirit and Judgment

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.