The Meaning of Hosea 4:19 Explained

Hosea 4:19

KJV: The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

YLT: Distressed her hath wind with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!

Darby: The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

ASV: The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be put to shame because of their sacrifices.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The wind  hath bound her up  in her wings,  and they shall be ashamed  because of their sacrifices. 

What does Hosea 4:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God would blow Israel away in judgment as though the wind wrapped the nation in its wings. When judgment came, the Israelites would finally feel shame for sacrificing to idols.
"God"s covenant people are called to court, found to be in violation of the stipulations of his covenant, and sentenced to destruction.
"The passage details a long series of crimes against the divine law, all related to the catalog of blessings and curses found in Deuteronomy 28-33. The sins of omission and commission pictured so relentlessly throughout the chapter make up a remarkably complete picture of the depths of Israel"s apostasy." [1]

Context Summary

Hosea 4:11-19 - "joined To Idols"
The prophet does not mince his words in describing the morals of his time. We are reminded of Bunyan's words: "My original and inward pollution was my plague. It was always putting itself forth in me, and I was more loathsome in my own eyes than a toad, and I thought I was in God's eyes also. Corruption bubbled up in my heart as naturally as water in a fountain, and I thought that everyone had a better heart than I." Of course in Christ "we have redemption through His blood," and that means more than forgiveness; it implies the deliverance of the soul from the love and power of evil. But if the soul of man refuses this, obstinately and persistently, a time arrives when God gives him up to reap as he has sown.
The greatest gift we can make to our generation is that of unblemished character. Sir Leslie Stephen, the brilliant agnostic, in his mature life, went back to the grave of an undergraduate, who had been his pupil and had died in early life without having distinguished himself in his studies or athletics, but had lived the Christian life with transparent simplicity and lovableness. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Hosea 4:19 mean?

Has wrapped up the wind her in its wings and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices -
צָרַ֥ר ר֛וּחַ אוֹתָ֖הּ בִּכְנָפֶ֑יהָ וְיֵבֹ֖שׁוּ מִזִּבְחוֹתָֽם‪‬‪‬ ס

צָרַ֥ר  Has  wrapped  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צָרַר 
Sense: to bind, be narrow, be in distress, make narrow, cause distress, besiege, be straitened, be bound.
ר֛וּחַ  the  wind 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
אוֹתָ֖הּ  her 
Parse: Direct object marker, third person feminine singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
בִּכְנָפֶ֑יהָ  in  its  wings 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּנָף  
Sense: wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt.
וְיֵבֹ֖שׁוּ  and  they  shall  be  ashamed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּושׁ 
Sense: to put to shame, be ashamed, be disconcerted, be disappointed.
מִזִּבְחוֹתָֽם‪‬‪‬  because  of  their  sacrifices 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: זֶבַח  
Sense: sacrifice.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation