Hosea 4:1-9 ▼

1 Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel! The LORD has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.

2 You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another.

3 That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

4 “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you.

5 So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother.

6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

7 The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.

8 “When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin!

9 ‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’ So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds.