Hosea 4

1 to hear: hear word LORD son: descendant/people Israel for strife to/for LORD with to dwell [the] land: country/planet for nothing truth: faithful and nothing kindness and nothing knowledge God in/on/with land: country/planet

You Israeli people, listen to this message from Yahweh! He is accusing you people who live in this country, [saying] “The people are not faithfully [doing what pleases me], they are not kind [to others], and they do not [even] know me!

2 to swear and to deceive and to murder and to steal and to commit adultery to break through and blood in/on/with blood to touch

Everywhere in this land they curse [others], they murder [others], they steal, and they commit adultery. They act violently toward others and commit one murder after another.

3 upon so to mourn [the] land: country/planet and to weaken all to dwell in/on/with her in/on/with living thing [the] land: country and in/on/with bird [the] heaven and also fish [the] sea to gather

It is because of their doing those things that there is no rain [MTY], the land has become dry, the people are mourning, and the people are dying [from hunger]. Even the wild animals and the birds and the fish in the sea are dying.

4 surely man: anyone not to contend and not to rebuke man: anyone and people your like/as to contend priest

But no one should accuse someone else and say it is his fault. It is you priests whom I am accusing.

5 and to stumble [the] day and to stumble also prophet with you night and to cease mother your

So I will punish [MTY] you priests, night and day, and I will punish the prophets with you. I am going to destroy [Israel, the nation that is like] [MET] a mother to you.

6 to cease people my from without [the] knowledge for you(m. s.) [the] knowledge to reject and to reject you from to minister to/for me and to forget instruction God your to forget son: child your also I

It is because my people do not know [about me] that they will be destroyed. And their not knowing about me is because you priests have refused [to teach them about me]; so I will no longer allow you to be my priests. You have forgotten the things that I taught you, so I will forget [to bless] your children.

7 like/as to multiply they so to sin to/for me glory their in/on/with dishonor to change

As there are more and more priests, they have sinned against me more and more. So I will no longer allow them to be honored; instead, I will cause them to be disgraced.

8 sin people my to eat and to(wards) iniquity: crime their to lift: trust soul: appetite his

The priests get food from [the offerings that the] people [bring in order to be forgiven for having sinned], [so] the priests want the people to sin more and more [in order that the people will bring them more and more offerings].

9 and to be like/as people like/as priest and to reckon: punish upon him way: conduct his and deed his to return: pay to/for him

The priests [are as sinful] as the [other] people, and I will punish [all of] them for what they have done; I will pay them back for the [evil] things that they have done.

10 and to eat and not to satisfy to fornicate and not to break through for [obj] LORD to leave: forsake to/for to keep: look at

[The priests] will eat, but they will still be hungry; they will have sex with prostitutes, but they will not have any children, because they have abandoned [me], Yahweh,

11 fornication and wine and new wine to take: take heart

and they are devoting themselves to sleeping with prostitutes, and to [drinking] old wine and new wine, which results in their not being able to think clearly.”

12 people my in/on/with tree: wood his to ask and rod his to tell to/for him for spirit fornication to go astray and to fornicate from underneath: instead God their

“[You] my people request wooden idols [to tell you what you should do]! Like prostitutes who have left/abandoned their husbands,

13 upon head: top [the] mountain: mount to sacrifice and upon [the] hill to offer: offer underneath: under oak and poplar and oak for pleasant shadow her upon so to fornicate daughter your and daughter-in-law: bride your to commit adultery

you have abandoned [me] your God, and you are chasing after [other gods] on the tops of hills and mountains; you burn incense under oak [trees], poplar [trees], and other trees where there is nice/pleasing shade. So your daughters have become prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law have committed adultery.

14 not to reckon: punish upon daughter your for to fornicate and upon daughter-in-law: bride your for to commit adultery for they(masc.) with [the] to fornicate to separate and with [the] cult prostitute to sacrifice and people not to understand to ruin

But it is not [only] your daughters [whom I will punish] for having become prostitutes, and it is not [only] your daughters-in-law whom I will punish for committing adultery, because the men also are having sex with prostitutes, and they offer sacrifices with the prostitutes [who search for men at the] shrines [of the idols]. [They are all] foolish people, and they will [all] be ruined.

15 if to fornicate you(m. s.) Israel not be guilty Judah and not to come (in): come [the] Gilgal and not to ascend: rise Beth-aven Beth-aven and not to swear alive LORD

You Israeli [people] have abandoned me like [MET] those who commit adultery have abandoned their spouses. But do not cause [the people of] Judah to sin [also]. Do not go to Gilgal or go up to Beth-Aven [towns] [to worship idols there]. Do not make solemn promises [there, saying ‘Just as surely] as Yahweh lives, [I will do what I am promising].’

16 for like/as heifer to rebel to rebel Israel now to pasture them LORD like/as lamb in/on/with broad

You [people of Israel] are as stubborn as [SIM] a young cow. So there is no way [RHQ] that [I], Yahweh, will [provide food for them] [like a shepherd provides food for his] lambs [by leading them] to a nice meadow.

17 to unite idol Ephraim to rest to/for him

The people of Israel have chosen to worship idols [MET], [so] allow them [to do what they want to do].

18 to turn aside: depart liquor their to fornicate to fornicate to love: lover to love: lover dishonor shield her

When their rulers finish drinking [their wine], they go to find prostitutes; they love their disgraceful behavior.

19 to constrain spirit: breath [obj] her in/on/with wing her and be ashamed from sacrifice their

But they will disappear [as though] [MET] they were blown away by a whirlwind. They will become [very] ashamed because of their offering sacrifices [to idols].”