Hos 3-4 | ESV | STEP | And the Lord said to me, Go again , love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress , even as the Lord loves the children of Israel , though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins .

1 And the Lord said to me, ^a“Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a ^bhomer and a lethech ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; a lethech was about 3 bushels or 110 liters} of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You must ^ddwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” 4 For the children of Israel ^eshall dwell many days ^fwithout king or prince, ^gwithout sacrifice or ^hpillar, without ⁱephod or ^jhousehold gods. 5 Afterward ^kthe children of Israel shall return and ^lseek the Lord their God, and ^mDavid their king, ⁿand they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the ^olatter days.

Hosea 4

The Lord Accuses Israel

1 ^pHear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for ^qthe Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and ^rno knowledge of God in the land;
2 ^sthere is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, and ^tbloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore ^uthe land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
^vand also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
^wand even the fish of the sea are taken away.
4 ^xYet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is ^ymy contention, O priest. ^{▼▼Or for your people are like those who contend with the priest}
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroy ^aayour mother.
6 My people are destroyed ^abfor lack of knowledge;
^acbecause you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you ^adfrom being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
^aeI also will forget your children.
7 ^afThe more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
^agI will change their glory into shame.
8 ^ahThey feed on the sin ^{▼▼Or sin offering} of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 ^ajAnd it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
10 ^akThey shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
which ^altake away the understanding.
12 My people ^aminquire of a piece of wood,
and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For ^ana spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 ^aoThey sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
and burn offerings on the hills,
^apunder oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for ^aqthe men themselves go aside with prostitutes
and sacrifice with ^arcult prostitutes,
and a people ^aswithout understanding shall come to ruin.
15 Though you play the whore, O ^atIsrael,
let not ^auJudah become guilty.
^avEnter not into ^awGilgal,
nor go up to ^axBeth-aven,
and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
16 Like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
like a lamb in a broad pasture?
17 ^ayEphraim is joined to idols;
^azleave him alone.
18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
^batheir rulers ^{▼▼Hebrew shields} dearly love shame.
19 ^bcA wind has wrapped them ^{▼▼Hebrew her} in its wings,
and they shall ^bebe ashamed because of their sacrifices.