Hosea 4

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¹Hear 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. ✦ 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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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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