Hosea 2:6 (ASV)

Passage

Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths.

Nearby Context

Hosea 2:4 Yea, upon her children will I have no mercy; for they are children of whoredom;

Hosea 2:5 for their mother hath played the harlot; she that conceived them hath done shamefully; for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

Hosea 2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths.

Hosea 2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

Hosea 2:8 For she did not know that I gave her the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied unto her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "behold", "hedge", "thorns", "build", "wall", "against", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "behold", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "for their mother hath played the harlot..." into verse 7's "And she shall follow after her lovers...", so "therefore" and "behold" 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 "therefore" and "behold" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.