Charles Ellicott Commentary Hosea 4:18-19

"Their drink is become sour; they play the harlot continually; her rulers dearly love shame. The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be put to shame because of their sacrifices." — Hosea 4:18-19 (ASV)

The Authorised Version is here very defective. Translate, Their carousal has become degraded; with whoring they whore. Her shields love shame. A blast has seized her in its wings, so that they are covered with shame for their offerings.

“Shields” means the princes of the people, as in Psalms 47:9. The feminine “her” in these verses refers to Ephraim, in accordance with the common Hebrew idiom. The change of person to the masculine plural is characteristic of the style of Hebrew prophecy. The storm-wind has seized upon her with its wings—carried her away like a swarm of locusts or a baffled bird.