Hosea 4

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¹Hear 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. ✦ ²By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. ✦ ³Therefore 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. ✦ ⁴Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. ✦ ⁵Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. ✦ ⁶My 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. ✦ ⁷As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. ✦ ⁸They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. ✦ ⁹And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. ✦ ¹⁰For 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. ✦ ¹¹Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. ✦ ¹²My 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. ✦ ¹³They 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. ✦ ¹⁴I 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. ✦ ¹⁵Though 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. ✦ ¹⁶For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. ✦ ¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. ✦ ¹⁸Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. ✦ ¹⁹The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. ✦

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Where this chapter connects

Hos 4 ·13 Jer 5 ·9 Jer 3 ·8 Jer 2 ·8 Isa 1 ·7 Jer 4 ·6 Mic 3 ·5 Hos 5 ·5

Christ at the center

God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.

How Hosea 4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Hosea videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Hosea 4YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Hosea 4David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on HoseaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Hosea 4Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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