Hosea 2:12 (LSB)

Passage

And I will make desolate her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, ‘These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.’ And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field will devour them.

Nearby Context

Hosea 2:10 So now I will uncover her lewdness In the sight of her lovers, And no one will deliver her out of My hand.

Hosea 2:11 I will also cease all her joy, Her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, And all her appointed times.

Hosea 2:12 And I will make desolate her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, ‘These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.’ And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field will devour them.

Hosea 2:13 So I will visit the days of the Baals upon her When she used to offer offerings in smoke to them And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry And go after her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares Yahweh.

Hosea 2:14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her And bring her into the wilderness And speak to her heart.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "make", "desolate", "vines", "trees", "said", "wages", "lovers", and "given". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "make" and "desolate", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "I will also cease all her joy..." into verse 13's "So I will visit the days of...", so "make" and "desolate" 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 "make" and "desolate" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.