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Hosea 4
1Hear the word of Yahweh, 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.
2There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
3Therefore 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.
5You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother.
6My 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.
7As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.
8They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.
9It will be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and will repay them for their deeds.
10They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.
11Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
12My 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.
13They 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.
14I 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.'
16For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow.
17Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone!
18Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.
19The wind has wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be disappointed because of their sacrifices.
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Adultery: General Scriptures Concerning Hosea 4:1, 2, 11
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. / Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
Alliances: Political with Idolaters Forbidden Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
Backsliders: Backsliding of Israel Hosea 4:6, 10, 16
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. / They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD. / For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
Backsliding: Israel Hosea 4:16
For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
Beasts: Often Cut off for the Sins of Men Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
Being Ignored Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
Beth-Aven: A Place on the Mountains of Benjamin Hosea 4:15
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
Birds: Often Suffered for Man's Sin Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
Blindness: Spiritual Hosea 4:1, 6, 14
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. / I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.
Character of the Wicked: Ignorant of God Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
Christian Minister: False and Corrupt Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
Church: Backslidden Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
Church: Corruption In Hosea 4:9
And it shall be like people, like priest. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
Company: Evil Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
Covetousness: General Scriptures Concerning Hosea 4:18
When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.
Crime: Partial Lists of Hosea 4:1, 2
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
Dishonesty: General Scriptures Concerning Hosea 4:1, 2
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
Divination: Effected Through: Rods Hosea 4:12
My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.
Dowsing Hosea 4:12
My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.
Dressing Up for Church Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
Drunkenness: General Scriptures Concerning Hosea 4:11
Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
Drunkenness: Takes Away the Heart Hosea 4:11
Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
Elm: General Scriptures Concerning Hosea 4:13
They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
Ephraim: A Tribe of Israel: Applied to the Ten Tribes Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
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Hosea 4:1-19 Henceforth the Prophet Speaks Plainly and without Symbol, in
Terse, Sententious Propositions. In this chapter he reproves the people and priests for their sins in the interregnum which followed Jeroboam's death; hence there is no mention of the king or his family; and in Ho 4:2 bloodshed and other evils usual in a civil war are specified.
Hosea 4:1 Verse 1
Israel--the ten tribes. controversy--judicial ground of complaint (Isa 1:18; Jer 25:31; Mic 6:2). no ... knowledge of God--exhibited in practice (Jer 22:16).
Hosea 4:2 Verse 2
they break out--bursting through every restraint. blood toucheth blood--literally, "bloods." One act of bloodshed follows another without any interval between (see 2Ki 15:8-16, 25; Mic 7:2).
Hosea 4:3 Verse 3
land ... languish--(Isa 19:8; 24:4; Joe 1:10, 12). sea--including all bodies of water, as pools and even rivers (see on Isa 19:5). A general drought, the greatest calamity in the East, is threatened.
Hosea 4:4 Verse 4
let no man ... reprove--Great as is the sin of Israel, it is hopeless to reprove them; for their presumptuous guilt is as great as that of one who refuses to obey the priest when giving judgment in the name of Jehovah, and who therefore is to be put to death (De 17:12). They rush on to their own destruction as wilfully as such a one. thy people--the ten tribes of Israel; distinct from Judah (Ho 4:1).
Hosea 4:5 Verse 5
fall in the day--in broad daylight, a time when an attack would not be expected (see on Jer 6:4, 5; Jer 15:8). in ... night--No time, night or day, shall be free from the slaughter of individuals of the people, as well as of the false prophets. thy mother--the Israelitish state, of which the citizens are the children (Ho 2:2).
Hosea 4:6 Verse 6
lack of knowledge--"of God" (Ho 4:1), that is, lack of piety. Their ignorance was wilful, as the epithet, "My people," implies; they ought to have known, having the opportunity, as the people of God. thou--O priest, so-called. Not regularly constituted, but still bearing the name, while confounding the worship of Jehovah and of the calves in Beth-el (1Ki 12:29, 31). I will ... forget thy children--Not only those who then were alive should be deprived of the priesthood, but their children who, in the ordinary course would have succeeded them, should be set aside.
Hosea 4:7 Verse 7
As they were increased--in numbers and power. Compare Ho 4:6, "thy children," to which their "increase" in numbers refers. so they sinned--(Compare Ho 10:1 and Ho 13:6). will I change their glory into shame--that is, I will strip them of all they now glory in (their numbers and power), and give them shame instead. A just retribution: as they changed their glory into shame, by idolatry (Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11; Ro 1:23; Php 3:19).
Hosea 4:8 Verse 8
eat ... sin of my people--that is, the sin offerings (Le 6:26; 10:17). The priests greedily devoured them. set their heart on their iniquity--literally, "lift up the animal soul to lust after," or strongly desire. Compare De 24:15, Margin; Ps 24:4;