Hosea 5:4

Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God; because a spirit of idolatry ¹  controls their heart, ²  and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

1Sa 2:12; Ps 9:10; Ps 36:1-4; Ps 78:8; Jer 9:6,24; Jer 22:15,16; Jer 24:7; Jer 50:38; Ho 4:1; Ho 4:12; Joh 3:19,20; Joh 8:55; Joh 16:3; 2Th 2:11,12; 1Jo 2:3,4

¹ tn Heb “a spirit of harlotries”; NIV “a spirit of prostitution”; TEV “Idolatry has a powerful hold on them.” However, CEV takes this literally: “your constant craving for sex keeps you from knowing me.”

² tn Heb “is in their heart” (so NIV); NASB, NRSV “is within them.”