Hosea 4:15-17

Contemporary English Version

¹⁵Israel, you are unfaithful,
    but don't lead Judah to sin.
Stop worshiping at Gilgal
    or at sinful Bethel.^[a]
And quit making promises
in my name—the name
    of the living Lord.
¹⁶You are nothing more
    than a stubborn cow—
so stubborn that I, the Lord,
cannot feed you like lambs
    in an open pasture.

¹⁷You people of Israel^[b]
are charmed by^[c] idols.
Leave those people alone!

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Footnotes

4.15 sinful Bethel: The Hebrew text has “Beth-Aven,” which means “house of sin” or “house of nothing,” referring to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”
4.17 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom.
4.17 charmed by: Or “joined to.”