Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.
There is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, {According to another reading, I have rejected.}I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.
As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.
They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.
And it shall be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and will requite them their doings.
And they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall play the harlot, and shall not increase; because they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the {Hebrew: heart.}understanding.
My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, departing from under their God.
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters play the harlot, and your {Or, daughter-in-law}brides commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your {Or, daughter-in-law}brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go apart with harlots, and they sacrifice with the prostitutes; and the people that doth not understand shall be overthrown.
Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah {Or, become guilty}offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, As Jehovah liveth.
For Israel hath behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer: now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.
Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.
{Or, Their carouse is over}Their drink is become sour; they play the harlot continually; {Or, they are given up to love; her rulers are a shame}her {Hebrew: shields.}rulers dearly love shame.
The wind hath wrapped her up in its {Or, skirts}wings; and {Or, as otherwise read, their altars shall be put to shame}they shall be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
Querverweise zu Hosea 4,6 Hos 4,6
My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, departing from under their God.
Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.
Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not Jehovah.
And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.
For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and builded {Or, temples}palaces; and Judah hath multiplied fortified cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the {Or, palaces}castles thereof.
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
For I desire {Or, kindness}goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.
They would none of my counsel;They despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,And be filled with their own devices.
For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them,And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them.
Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and {Or, that which is lost, let it be lost}that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another.
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.
As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and {Hebrew: swallow up.}destroy the way of thy paths.
Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law:
And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not {Or, miss}visit those that are {Or, lost}cut off, neither will seek {Or, the young}those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which {Hebrew: standeth.}is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces.
Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they {Or, practised}made.
And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
Therefore my people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge; and {Hebrew: their glory are men of famine.}their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.
But if they hearken not, they shall perish by {Or, weapons}the sword,And they shall die without knowledge.
His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, {Or, one and all}from every quarter.
Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
Behold, I will rebuke {Or, as otherwise read, your arm}your seed, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and ye shall be taken away {Or, unto}with it.
The cords of the wicked have wrapped me round;But I have not forgotten thy law.
For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Also, {Or, desire without knowledge is not good}that the soul be without knowledge is not good;And he that hasteth with his feet {Or, misseth his way}sinneth.
The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law knew me not: the {Hebrew: shepherds.}rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have had respect of persons in the law.
My zeal hath {Hebrew: cut me off.}consumed me,Because mine adversaries have forgotten thy words.
Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah.
When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women shall come, and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have compassion upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favor.
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath {Or, made of it falsehood}wrought falsely.
They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will let out the vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, {Psalm 118:22 f.}The stone which the builders rejected,The same was made the head of the corner;This was from the Lord,And it is marvelous in our eyes?
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
{Some ancient authorities omit verse 44.}And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.
And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy {Or, stronghold}strength; therefore thou plantest pleasant plants, and settest it with {Or, vine slips of a stranger god}strange slips.
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them?
And they took him, and killed him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard.
And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
For God said, {Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16.}Honor thy father and thy mother: and, {Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9.}He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him {Or, surely die}die the death.
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God;
he shall not honor his father {Some ancient authorities add or his mother.}. And ye have made void the {Some ancient authorities read law.}word of God because of your tradition.
O Jehovah, {Hebrew: are not thine eyes upon.}do not thine eyes look upon {Or, faithfulness}truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive {Or, instruction}correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
{Isaiah 29:13.}This people honoreth me with their lips;But their heart is far from me.
Then I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, nor the law of their God:
But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, {Greek: Be it not so.}God forbid.
But he looked upon them, and said, What then is this that is written, {Psalms 118:22.}The stone which the builders rejected,The same was made the head of the corner?
Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.
and Jesse begat David the king.And David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah;
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without {Hebrew: heart.}understanding; that have eyes, and see not; that have ears, and hear not:
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple, he is a {Or, bound by his oath.}debtor.
Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple that hath sanctified the gold?
And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a {Or, bound by his oath.}debtor.
Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
And he that sweareth by the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and {Or, dill}anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.
Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.
{Or, And I chose}and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to {Or, offer upon}go up unto mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? {Or, and gave}and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?
Wherefore {Or, trample ye upon…and upon}kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
Therefore Jehovah, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.
And thou shalt behold {Or, an adversary in my habitation}the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.
{Or, Yet will I not cut off every man of thine from mine altar, to consume &c.}And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die {Hebrew: when they are men.}in the flower of their age.
And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them.
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.
In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end.
For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he restrained them not.
And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.
And even if our {See marginal note on chapter 2:12.}gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that {Or, are perishing}perish:
in whom the god of this {Or, age}world hath blinded the {Greek: thoughts. Chapter 4:4, 11:3}minds of the unbelieving, {Or, that they should not see the light…image of God}that the {Greek: illumination.}light of the {See marginal note on chapter 2:12.}gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your {Greek: bondservants. Compare 1 Corinthians 9:19.}servants {Some ancient authorities read through Jesus.}for Jesus' sake.
Seeing it is God, that said, {Genesis 1:3.}Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the {Greek: illumination.}light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.