Hosea 4:1

Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — YHWH addresses the children of Israel to announce a formal legal case against the inhabitants of the land before the prophet details their rampant moral collapse.

The words — The Hebrew רִיב (riv) denotes a formal legal dispute or lawsuit, establishing the prophetic message as a divine indictment rather than a mere warning.

The thread — The motif of a divine lawsuit appears in Micah 6:2, where the mountains are summoned to hear YHWH’s case, and Isaiah 3:13, where YHWH arises to contend and judge the people.

Why it lands — The text declares the absence of truth, covenant loyalty, and relational knowledge of God as the factual basis for the coming judgment. It demands a clear-eyed assessment of national spiritual bankruptcy before any moral reform is possible.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
Micah 6:2 Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel:
Isaiah 3:13 The LORD arises to contend; He stands to judge the people.
1 Corinthians 15:34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
Isaiah 34:1 Come near, O nations, to listen; pay attention, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that springs from it.
Jeremiah 5:4 Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.
Jeremiah 25:31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD.
Hosea 12:2 The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.
Amos 7:16 Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’