Hosea 4 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Listen to what Yahweh is saying, people of Israel — Yahweh has a case to bring against everyone living in this land: There is no faithfulness, no loyalty, and no knowledge of God anywhere in the land.

Instead — cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They've broken through every boundary, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Because of this, the land itself is withering — everything living in it is wasting away: the wild animals, the birds in the sky, even the fish in the sea are disappearing.

But let no one point fingers, let no one accuse — because my quarrel, priest, is with you.

You stumble by day, and the prophet stumbles with you by night — and I will destroy your mother.

My people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you rejected knowledge, I reject you from serving as my priest. Because you forgot the instruction of your God, I will forget your children too.

The more priests there were, the more they failed me. They traded their glory for something disgraceful.

They feed on the failures of my people and crave their wrongdoing.

And it will be the same for priest as for people — I will punish them for their ways and pay them back for what they've done.

They will eat but never be full. They will chase after other lovers but never have children — because they abandoned Yahweh to give themselves to other gods.

Wine and new wine steal the mind.

My people ask a piece of wood for answers and expect a stick to tell them the future. A spirit of prostitution has led them astray — they have played the unfaithful lover, abandoning their God.

On the mountaintops they make their sacrifices, and on the hills they burn their offerings — under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because the shade is so pleasant. That is why your daughters sell their bodies and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

I will not punish your daughters for selling their bodies or your daughters-in-law for their adultery — because the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices alongside cult women. A people without understanding will be ruined.

Even if you, Israel, play the unfaithful lover — don't let Judah become guilty too. Don't go to Gilgal, don't go up to Beth-aven, and don't swear, 'As Yahweh lives.'

Israel is as stubborn as a stubborn cow — so how can Yahweh shepherd them like a lamb in an open meadow?

Ephraim is joined to his idols — leave him alone.

When their drinking is done, they give themselves completely to prostitution. Their rulers dearly love their shameful ways.

A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will leave them ashamed.