Hosea 4
1Hear the Devar Hashem, ye Bnei Yisroel: 1 for Hashem hath a controversy with the yoshvei ha'aretz, 1 because there is no emes, nor chesed, 1 nor da'as Elohim in ha'aretz. + 4:1 See 11:7-9; 1K 1:18-19 1
2By aloh (false swearing, perjury), and kachash (lying), and ratzo'ach (murder), 1 and ganov (stealing), and na'of (committing adultery) they break away, 1 and damim b'damim they follow (bloodshed follows bloodshed). 1
3Therefore shall ha'aretz mourn, 1 and every one that dwelleth therein shall waste away languishing, 1 with the wild beasts of the sadeh, and with the fowls of Shomayim; 1 yea, the dagim of the yam also shall disappear. 1
4Yet let no ish bring a point of contention, 1 nor reprove another; 1 for thy people are as they 1 that strive with the kohen. 1
5Therefore shalt thou stumble and fall in the yom, 1 and the navi also shall stumble and fall with thee in the lailah, 1 and I will destroy thy em. 1
6Ami are destroyed for lack of da'as (knowledge); 1 because thou hast rejected da'as, 1 I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no kohen to Me; 1 seeing thou hast forgotten the torat Eloheicha, 1 I will also forget thy banim. 1
7The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me; 1 therefore will I change their kavod into kalon (ignominy, shame). 1
8They + 4:8 i.e., the kohanim feed on the chattat (sin) of Ami, 1 and they relish their avon (iniquity). 1
9And there shall be, like Am (People), like kohen; 1 and I will visit them with punishment for their ways, 1 and repay them for their doings. 1
10For they shall eat, and not have enough; 1 they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase; 1 because they have abandoned being shomer to heed Hashem. 1
11Zenut (prostitution, whoredom) and yayin and tirosh 1 take away the lev (understanding). 1
12Ami (My people) consult a piece of wood, 1 and their staff declareth unto them; 1 for the ruach zenunim hath caused them to err, 1 and they have played the zonah, forsaking Eloheihem. 1
13They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, 1 and burn incense upon the hills, 1 under oak and poplar and terebinth, 1 because the shade thereof is tov; 1 therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, 1 and your daughters-in-law shall commit ni'uf (adultery). 1
14I will not visit punishment upon your daughters when they commit whoredom, 1 nor your daughters-in-law when they commit ni'uf (adultery); 1 because the men consort with zonot, 1 and they sacrifice with kedeshot (temple prostitutes); 1 thus the Am without binah (understanding) shall come to ruin. 1
15Though thou, Yisroel, play the zonah, 1 yet let not Yehudah become guilty; 1 and come not ye unto Gilgal, 1 neither go ye up to Beit-Aven (House of Iniquity), + 4:15 pejorative name for Bethel 1 nor swear, Chai Hashem (As the L-rd lives). 1
16For Yisroel slideth back + 4:16 i.e., is stubborn, rebellious, unmanageable 1 like a backsliding parah (stubborn, rebellious cow); 1 can Hashem now feed them 1 like a lamb in a wide field? 1
17Ephrayim + 4:17 i.e., the Northern Kingdom, Israel is joined to atzabim (idols); 1 leave him alone. 1
18When their drink is sour, + 4:18 i.e., when intoxicated 1 they have committed whoredom; 1 her mogenim (shields, rulers) deeply love kalon (ignominy, shame). 1
19The wind hath bound her up in her wings, 1 and their zevakhot (sacrifices) shall bring them bushah (shame).