What Does Hosea 2:19 Mean in the King James?
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The repeated pledge gives “for ever” a relational shape: through the ages, you are betrothed in alignment, faithful love, and compassion whose root also names the womb.
THE MEANING
You are addressed within a pledged bond whose promise reaches through the ages. Its shape is alignment, justice, faithful love, and compassion; the promise names the qualities of the relationship itself.
THE ROOT
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ
wəʾērāśtîḵ
GROWS FROM
ארשׂ
ʾ-r-ś
To betroth; to pledge oneself in marriage.
“betroth” in this verse is wəʾērāśtîḵ. The verse repeats this pledge twice, making betrothal its pulse. The bond is not only promised for a long span; the relationship itself is named again and again.
ALSO GROWS
məʾorāsāh: A betrothed woman.
מְאֹרָשָׂה
The same root describes someone already within a pledged relationship, not only the act that begins one.
wəʾērāśtîḵ: And I will betroth you.
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ
Its second appearance in this verse turns the pledge into a refrain.
חֶסֶד
ḥesed
GROWS FROM
חסד
ḥ-s-d
Faithful love; loyalty expressed through care.
“Lovingkindness” can sound like a passing mood, but this root carries the weight of loyal love that proves itself by keeping faith. Hosea names it as part of the bond’s substance.
ALSO GROWS
ḥasādîm: Acts of faithful love or loyalties.
חֲסָדִים
The plural points to faithful love expressed in deeds, giving the pledge a concrete shape.
ḥāsîd: A faithful or devoted person.
חָסִיד
The same root can describe a person shaped by this loyal care, not only the care itself.
רַחֲמִים
raḥamîm
GROWS FROM
רחם
r-ḥ-m
Womb; tender compassion.
“mercies” in this verse is raḥamîm. The same consonants name the womb and the act of showing compassion. Here compassion carries the sense of intimate, life-bearing tenderness within the pledged bond.
ALSO GROWS
reḥem: Womb.
רֶחֶם
This shared root gives “mercies” a closeness and tenderness that the English word can leave hidden.
riḥēm: To show compassion.
רִחֵם
The verb makes compassion an active expression of care, not merely a feeling.
THE PATTERN
A lasting covenant holds its qualities together and makes love visible in the way relationship is kept.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;THE THREAD
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.Hosea repeats the same betrothal verb in the next verse, then gives the bond a lived expression through trust and knowing the LORD. The pledge named here opens into relationship in the present.
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