Hosea 4:4
New International Version
“But let no one bring a charge, let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.

New Living Translation
“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you.

English Standard Version
Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.

Berean Standard Bible
But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

King James Bible
Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

New King James Version
“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

New American Standard Bible
Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who contend with a priest.

NASB 1995
Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

NASB 1977
Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Legacy Standard Bible
Yet let no man contend, and let no man offer reproof; Indeed, your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Amplified Bible
Yet let no one find fault, nor let any rebuke [others]; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Christian Standard Bible
But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for my case is against you priests.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for My case is against you priests.

American Standard Version
Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Contemporary English Version
Don't accuse just anyone! Not everyone is at fault. My case is against you, the priests.

English Revised Version
Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"No one should accuse other people or bring charges against them. My case is against you priests.

Good News Translation
The LORD says, "Let no one accuse the people or reprimand them--my complaint is against you priests.

International Standard Version
"Let no one fight or bring charges against another, for my dispute is with you, priest.

Majority Standard Bible
But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

NET Bible
Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: for my case is against you priests!

New Heart English Bible
"Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; For your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.

Webster's Bible Translation
Yet let no man contend, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that contend with the priest.

World English Bible
“Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, "" And your people [are] as those striving with a priest.

Young's Literal Translation
Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people are as those striving with a priest.

Smith's Literal Translation
But a man shall not contend, and he shall not admonish a man: and my people as contending with the priest.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But yet let not any man judge: and let not a man be rebuked: for thy people are as they that contradict the priest.

Catholic Public Domain Version
So, truly, let each and every one not judge, and let no man be accused, for your people are just like those who speak against the priesthood.

New American Bible
But let no one accuse, let no one rebuke; with you is my dispute, priest!

New Revised Standard Version
Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Because none judges nor reproves another, for your people is engaged in controversy like a priest.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because a man does not judge, neither does he rebuke, and your people dispute like a Priest
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; For thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
that neither any one may plead, nor any one reprove another; but my people are as a priest spoken against.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Charges Against Israel
3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear. 4But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest. 5You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother—…

Cross References
Isaiah 29:21
those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.

Amos 5:10
There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.

Micah 2:6
“Do not preach,” they preach. “Do not preach these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”

Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

Ezekiel 3:26-27
I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. / But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Malachi 2:7-8
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts. / But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.

2 Chronicles 24:20-21
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’” / But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:25
If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.

Deuteronomy 17:12
But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Proverbs 9:7-8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself. / Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

Matthew 23:29-36
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. / And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ / So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. ...

Luke 11:47-51
Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them. / So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. / Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ...

John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.

Acts 7:51-52
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. / Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

Romans 2:1-3
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. / And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. / So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?


Treasury of Scripture

Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for your people are as they that strive with the priest.

let.

Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

Amos 5:13
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Amos 6:10
And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

as.

Deuteronomy 17:12
And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

Jeremiah 18:18
Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

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Accuse Charge Charges Contend Contention Fault Find Law Offer Priest Protests Reproof Reprove Strive Striving
Hosea 4
1. God denounces judgments on Israel, for their aggravated impieties and iniquities.
12. He exposes the ignorance and wickedness of the priests,
13. and moral dissolution of the people,
14. he will leave their wives and daughters to commit lewdness, without present punishment.
15. He warns Judah, not to imitate Israel's crimes, which are still further reproved.














But let no man contend
The Hebrew word for "contend" is "riyb," which means to strive or argue. In the context of Hosea, this is a call to cease from arguing or disputing. Historically, Israel was in a state of moral and spiritual decline, and contention was rampant. The prophet Hosea, speaking on behalf of God, urges the people to stop their fruitless arguments. This is a reminder that human disputes often distract from divine truth and righteousness. In a conservative Christian perspective, this can be seen as a call to unity and peace within the body of Christ, avoiding unnecessary quarrels that can lead to division.

let no man offer reproof
The term "reproof" comes from the Hebrew "yakach," which means to correct or rebuke. In this passage, the admonition is against offering correction, not because correction is inherently wrong, but because the people are in such a state of rebellion that they are unreceptive to it. This reflects a time when the Israelites were resistant to God's guidance. From a conservative viewpoint, this serves as a cautionary tale about the hardness of heart that can develop when people persistently reject divine instruction. It underscores the importance of being open to correction and the wisdom of God.

for your people are like those who contend with a priest
The phrase "contend with a priest" highlights a serious breach of respect and order. Priests in ancient Israel were God's appointed mediators, responsible for teaching the law and guiding the people in worship. To contend with a priest was to challenge God's established authority. This reflects a deep-seated rebellion against divine order. In a conservative Christian context, this can be seen as a warning against challenging or undermining spiritual authority that is aligned with God's Word. It emphasizes the need for humility and submission to God's ordained leadership within the church.

(4) Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another.--Better, Nevertheless, let no one contend, let no one reprove, for the voices of wise counsel, the warnings of the prophet, will be silenced. Ephraim will in his obstinate wrong-doing be left alone. The last clause of the verse is rendered by nearly all versions and commentators, Though thy people are as those who contend with a priest--i.e., are as guilty as those who transgress the teaching of the Torah by defying the injunctions of the priest (Deuteronomy 17:12-13; Numbers 15:33). But the Speaker's Commentary gives a different rendering, which is better adapted to the denunciations of the priest in the following verses (comp. Hosea 6:9). By a slight change in the punctuation of the Hebrew we obtain the interpretation, "And thy people, O priest, are as my adversaries." The position of the vocative in Hebrew, and the absence of the article, are, no doubt, objections to such a construction, but they are not insuperable, and the compensating advantage to exegesis is manifest.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But
אַ֥ךְ (’aḵ)
Adverb
Strong's 389: A particle of affirmation, surely

let no
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

man
אִ֛ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

contend;
יָרֵ֖ב (yā·rêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7378: To toss, grapple, to wrangle, controversy, to defend

let no
וְאַל־ (wə·’al-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

man
אִ֑ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

offer reproof;
יוֹכַ֣ח (yō·w·ḵaḥ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3198: To be right, reciprocal, to argue, to decide, justify, convict

for your people [are] like those
וְעַמְּךָ֖ (wə·‘am·mə·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

who contend against
כִּמְרִיבֵ֥י (kim·rî·ḇê)
Preposition-k | Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7378: To toss, grapple, to wrangle, controversy, to defend

a priest.
כֹהֵֽן׃ (ḵō·hên)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3548: Priest


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OT Prophets: Hosea 4:4 Yet let no man bring a charge (Ho Hs Hos.)
Hosea 4:3
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