Hosea 2:12 (ASV)

Passage

And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, These are my hire that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Nearby Context

Hosea 2:10 And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.

Hosea 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.

Hosea 2:12 And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, These are my hire that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Hosea 2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, unto which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith Jehovah.

Hosea 2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "waste", "vines", "fig-trees", "whereof", "hath", "said", "hire", and "lovers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "waste" and "vines", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "I will also cause all her mirth..." into verse 13's "And I will visit upon her the...", so "waste" and "vines" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "waste" and "vines" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.