Hosea 4 19

Hosea 4:19 kjv

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

Hosea 4:19 nkjv

The wind has wrapped her up in its wings, And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Hosea 4:19 niv

A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.

Hosea 4:19 esv

A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Hosea 4:19 nlt

So a mighty wind will sweep them away.
Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame.

Hosea 4 19 Cross References

VerseTextReference
Hos 4:19"...my mother had dealt very corruptly with me."Hosea
Jer 3:6"Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone back from me to her high places."Judgment on unfaithfulness
Jer 15:10"Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to all the land!"Jeremiah's lament about his heritage
Ezek 16:44"As is the mother, so is her daughter."Spiritual lineage of sin
Zech 5:3-4Describes sin spreading like a plague.General theme of corruption
Luke 11:47-51Jesus condemns religious leaders for building tombs of prophets their fathers killed.Generations of spiritual apostasy
Rom 1:28-32Paul lists sins resulting from God giving people over to a depraved mind, including lack of natural affection.Consequences of depravity
2 Tim 3:2-5Describes people in the last days as lovers of self, lovers of money, disloyal, ... having the form of godliness but denying its power.Description of moral decay
Gal 5:19-21Lists works of the flesh, including... hatred, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, ...Results of fleshly living
Matt 7:16"You will recognize them by their fruits."Identifying false prophets
Rev 17:4-5The "mother of harlots" described with an inscription on her forehead.Symbolism of spiritual prostitution and corruption
John 8:44Jesus calls the devil "a murderer from the beginning."Origin of evil and destructive patterns
Psalm 58:3"Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are in error and speak lies."Inherent tendency to sin
Isaiah 64:6"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags."Universal sinfulness
1 Cor 15:33"Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.'"Influence of environment
Proverbs 22:6"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."The importance of proper upbringing
Deuteronomy 7:9"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."God's faithfulness vs. human failure
1 Corinthians 13:4-7Defines love as patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, etc.Contrast to the absence of affection
Revelation 18:7"To the same degree as she glorified herself and indulged in her sensuality, give her a torment and mourning."Consequences of corruption
Ephesians 4:31"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."Call to abandon negative attitudes

Hosea 4 verses

Hosea 4 19 Meaning

The verse vividly depicts a tragic consequence: the deep affection and tenderness of a mother for her offspring are utterly extinguished. It describes a profound absence of compassion, where a mother could become so callously indifferent to her own child that she would readily offer them up as a sacrifice. This signifies a complete spiritual and moral decay, a loss of foundational humanity.

Hosea 4 19 Context

Hosea's prophecy is set against the backdrop of Israel's rampant idolatry and moral corruption during the reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen into severe spiritual and social decline. They had turned away from Yahweh, the God of the covenant, to worship other deities and engage in pagan practices, often associated with fertility cults. This abandonment of God had infiltrated every aspect of society, leading to injustice, dishonesty, and a breakdown of family values.

Chapter 4, leading up to verse 19, focuses on the pervasiveness of this sin, accusing the people, especially the religious and political leaders, of spiritual adultery and leading the nation astray. Hosea's message is a severe indictment of their covenant-breaking. He uses vivid imagery, often drawn from domestic life and sexual sin, to illustrate Israel's unfaithfulness to God, whom he portrays as a spurned husband. Verse 19 reflects this overarching theme of Israel's pervasive corruption, suggesting that this generational decay has infected even the most fundamental human bonds, reaching into the very core of familial relationships.

Hosea 4 19 Word Analysis

  • כִּי (ki): A versatile Hebrew conjunction. Here, it primarily signifies "for" or "because," introducing a reason or explanation for the preceding statement.
  • אָכֵן (achen): Often translated as "indeed," "truly," or "surely." It serves as an emphatic particle, strongly asserting the truth of what follows.
  • מְרִיתִי (meriti): A verb form derived from מוּר (mur), meaning "to sell." In this context, it's used metaphorically. It can carry connotations of being easily induced to sin, or even "abandoned to sin" or "corrupted." The imagery is one of being readily yielded up or handed over to sin.
  • אִמִּי (immi): "My mother." This is a direct statement of personal relation. The focus on "mother" is significant, representing nurturing, origin, and deepest relational bonds.
  • עָשָׂה (asah): "did," "made," "acted." It signifies an action or a course of behavior.
  • תּוֹעֵבוֹת (to'evot): A feminine plural noun meaning "abominations" or "detestable things." It refers to things that are profoundly offensive to God, often associated with idolatry and the practices of pagan nations. The plural suggests a multitude of corrupt deeds.
  • בִּי (bi): "with me" or "in me." Indicating that the corruption or corrupting actions were directed towards or had an effect upon the speaker.

Words-Group Analysis

  • "אָכֵן מְרִיתִי אִמִּי" (achen meriti immi): This is a particularly striking phrase. It is not simply that "my mother sinned," but that she "very corruptly did with me." The idea is not necessarily that the mother literally offered her child to a pagan god, though that could be a grim literal possibility in ancient Israel. More broadly, it suggests that the mother herself was so thoroughly steeped in the corruption and apostasy of the time that her very nurturing and upbringing of her child was a process of "selling" or abandoning that child to a life of sin and spiritual death. It speaks to a generational transfer of deeply ingrained iniquity, where the influence of the mother, the primary nurturer, was itself a source of profound spiritual compromise. The depth of this maternal corruption implies an utter void of natural affection and ethical grounding, making even the sacred maternal bond a conduit for sin.

Hosea 4 19 Bonus Section

The concept of "selling" or being "sold" to sin is a potent metaphor found throughout scripture. It speaks to a complete surrender of oneself or one’s offspring to evil influences. This idea echoes the sacrifices made to pagan deities, where children were sometimes offered. However, Hosea's use here likely extends beyond literal child sacrifice to encompass the spiritual abandonment of children through a lifestyle of sin and idolatry. It points to a pervasive spiritual bankruptcy that renders people incapable of basic love and moral responsibility, illustrating a judgment on Israel where their very heritage was steeped in corrupting influences, leading even mothers to act contrary to nature. This extreme lack of affection is presented as a consequence of pervasive societal sin, a profound indicator of divine judgment.

Hosea 4 19 Commentary

This verse encapsulates the devastating impact of societal and spiritual apostasy on the most intimate human relationships. When a nation abandons God, the moral fabric unravels completely. The very foundations of love and nurturing within the family are corrupted, leading to a loss of basic human compassion. Israel’s turning away from Yahweh was not just a religious failure; it was a moral catastrophe that perverted family life and extinguished the natural affection that should characterize motherhood. The "selling" or corrupting of her child by the mother signifies how deeply sin can infiltrate and destroy the natural order, turning life-givers into agents of spiritual destruction. It highlights a deep societal rot where even the maternal instinct is overcome by depravity.