Hosea 4
Big idea: The marriage is set aside and the lawsuit begins: Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land, and the indictment opens with three absences — no truth, no loyal love, no knowledge of God — followed by five verbs that are five of the Ten Commandments broken in a row.
The priests are blamed first here, and chapter 5 opens by naming them again, along with the king's house — the whole leadership summoned to listen.
4:1–11 — Destroyed for lack of knowledge
The charge sheet is structured like a legal complaint: three things missing, then five crimes named as bare infinitives — swearing, lying, murdering, stealing, adultery — so that they read as a list rather than a description. The consequence is ecological, which is unusual and deliberate: the land mourns and the animals and fish are taken away, because covenant failure in Israel's law affects the ground.
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 in it will waste away, with 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 listening to Yahweh. 11 Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
4:12–19 — A spirit of prostitution
The mockery is sharp — consulting a piece of wood and getting answers from a stick — and then the geography of the cult: sacrifices on hilltops, incense under oak and poplar and terebinth, because the shade is good. What follows is one of the more remarkable statements in the prophets: God says he will NOT punish the daughters for their promiscuity, because the men are doing the same thing, and it is the men who set the example.
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, 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.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).