Hosea 4:18

"Their drinking has degenerated; whoring they have committed whoredom; their shields have loved, loved shame. Hos 4:19. The wind has wrapt it up in its wings, so that they are put to shame because of their sacrifices." סר from סוּר, to fall off, degenerate, as in Jer 2:21. סבא is probably strong, intoxicating wine (cf. Isa 1:22; Nah 1:10); here it signifies the effect of this wine, viz., intoxication. Others take sâr in the usual sense of departing, after Sa1 1:14, and understand the sentence conditionally: "when their intoxication is gone, they commit whoredom." But Hitzig has very properly object to this, that it is intoxication which leads to licentiousness, and not temperance. Moreover, the strengthening of hisnū by the inf. abs. is not in harmony with this explanation. The hiphil hiznâh is used in an emphatic sense, as in Hos 4:10. The meaning of the last half of the verse is also a disputed point, more especially on account of the word הבוּ, which only occurs here, and which can only be the imperative of יהב (הבוּ for הבוּ), or a contraction of אהבוּ. All other explanations are arbitrary. But we are precluded from taking the word as an imperative by קלון, which altogether confuses the sense, if we adopt the rendering "their shields love 'Give ye' - shame." We therefore prefer taking הבוּ as a contraction of אהבוּ, and אהבוּ הבוּ as a construction resembling the pealal form, in which the latter part of the fully formed verb is repeated, with the verbal person as an independent form (Ewald, 120), viz., "their shields loved, loved shame," which yields a perfectly suitable thought. The princes are figuratively represented as shields, as in Ps. 47:10, as the supporters and protectors of the state. They love shame, inasmuch as they love the sin which brings shame. Th…

Prophets were sent to be reprovers, to tell people of their faults, and to warn them of the judgments of God, to which by sin they exposed themselves; so the prophet is employed in this and the following chapters. He is here, as counsel for the King of kings, opening an indictment against the people of Israel, and labouring to convince them of sin, and of their misery and danger because of sin, that he might prevail with them to repent and reform. I. He shows them what were the grounds of God's controversy with them, a general prevalency of vice and profaneness (Hos 4:1, Hos 4:2), ignorance and forgetfulness of God (Hos 4:6, Hos 4:7), the worldly-mindedness of the priests (Hos 4:8), drunkenness and uncleanness (Hos 4:11), using divination and witchcraft (Hos 4:12), offering sacrifice in the high places (Hos 4:13), whoredoms (Hos 4:14, Hos 4:18), and bribery among magistrates (Hos 4:18). II. He shows them what would be the consequences of God's controversy. God would punish them for these things (Hos 4:9). The whole land should be laid waste (Hos 4:3), all sorts of people cut off (Hos 4:5), their honour lost (Hos 4:7), their creature-comforts unsatisfying (Hos 4:10), and themselves made ashamed (Hos 4:19). And, which is several times mentioned here as the sorest judgment of all, they should be let alone in their sins (Hos 4:17), they shall not reprove one another (Hos 4:4), God will not punish them (Hos 4:14), nay, he will let them prosper (Hos 4:16). III. He gives warning to Judah not to tread in the steps of Israel, because they saw their steps went down to hell (Hos 4:15).