Hosea 2:12
in Hosea 2I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers. So I will make them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field will devour them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
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This verse in Hosea 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThese are my rewards - They attributed all the blessings of Providence as rewards received from the idols which they worshipped.
This site's exposition
now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers
on Hosea 2:10-13
The judgment widens from provision to worship itself, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths silenced along with the vines and fig trees she called my rewards that my lovers have given me, the commentators noting the bitter irony of gifts she attributed to Baal now turned into forest for wild beasts to strip. The days of Baalim visited upon her, the burning of incense, the earrings and jewels put on for her lovers, the whole apparatus of the fertility cult is named item by item rather than gestured at generally. The section closes on the charge that names the root of everything listed, and forgat me, saith the Lord, forgetfulness rather than ignorance now the explicit verdict.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And now I will reveal her folly in the eyes of her lovers: and no man shall deliver her out of my hand: and I will cause all her mirth to cease, her solemnities, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her festival times. And I will destroy her vines, and her fig-trees, of which she said: These are my rewards, which my lovers have given me: and I will make her a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour her."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
While they took the pleasure of these, they gave their lovers the praise of them: " These are my rewards which my lovers have given me; I may thank my stars for these, and my worship of them;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
my rewards--my hire as a harlot (Isa 23:17, 18). lovers--idols. destroy . . . vines . . . make . . . forest-- (Isa 5:6; Fulfilled in the overthrow of Israel by Assyria (Ho 9:4, 5).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees - Before, God had threatened to take away the fruits in their seasons; now He says, that he will take away all hope for the future; not the fruit only, but the trees which bare it. “The vine is a symbol of joy, the fig of sweetness” (see Jdg 9:11, Jdg 9:13). It was the plague, which God in former times laid upon those, out of the midst of whom He took them to be His people (Psa 105:33; see Jer 5:17). “He smote their vines also and their fig trees, and brake the trees of their coasts.” Now that they had become like the pagan, He dealt with them as with the pagan. Of which she said, these are my rewards - Literally “my hire.” It is the special word, used of the payment to the adulteress, or degraded woman, and so continues the likeness, by which he had set forth the foulness of her desertion of God. And I will make them a forest - The vines and fig-trees which had aforetime been their wealth, and full of beauty, should, when neglected, run wild, and become the harbor of the wild beasts Which should prey upon them. So to the wicked God causes, “that the things which should have been for their wealth should be an occasion of falling” Psa 69:22. They contain in themselves the sources of their own decay.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and no man shall save her from My hand Even the merits of the Patriarchs have been depleted. [from Shabbath 55a]
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִ֗י | vahashimoti | and I will devastate | H8074 → | |
| גַּפְנָהּ֙ | gafnah | vine[s] her | H1612 → | 55 times |
| וּתְאֵ֣נָתָ֔הּ | uteenatah | and fig tree[s] her | H8384 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָמְרָ֗ה | ʾamerah | she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶתְנָ֥ה | ʾetnah | [are] wage[s] | H866 → | |
| הֵ֙מָּה֙ | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| לִ֔י | li | of me | ||
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָֽתְנוּ־ | natenu- | they gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִ֖י | li | to me | ||
| מְאַֽהֲבָ֑י | meahavai | lovers my | H157 → | 211 times |
| וְשַׂמְתִּ֣ים | vesamtim | and I will make them | H7760 → | 584 times |
| לְיַ֔עַר | leyaar | into a thicket | H3293 → | |
| וַאֲכָלָ֖תַם | vaakhalatam | and it will consume them | H398 → | 810 times |
| חַיַּ֥ת | chaiyat | [the] animal[s] of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִ֗יand I will devastate
vahashimotiH8074 →
גַּפְנָהּ֙vine[s] her
gafnahH1612 →55 times
וּתְאֵ֣נָתָ֔הּand fig tree[s] her
uteenatahH8384 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָמְרָ֗הshe said
ʾamerahH559 →5305 times
אֶתְנָ֥ה[are] wage[s]
ʾetnahH866 →
הֵ֙מָּה֙they
hemahH1992 →553 times
לִ֔יof me
li
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָֽתְנוּ־they gave
natenu-H5414 →2011 times
לִ֖יto me
li
מְאַֽהֲבָ֑יlovers my
meahavaiH157 →211 times
וְשַׂמְתִּ֣יםand I will make them
vesamtimH7760 →584 times
לְיַ֔עַרinto a thicket
leyaarH3293 →
וַאֲכָלָ֖תַםand it will consume them
vaakhalatamH398 →810 times
חַיַּ֥ת[the] animal[s] of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 29:17In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
it leads to
- Isaiah 32:15
until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high. Then the desert will be an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
- Matthew 19:30
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
- Isaiah 32:15
Through
Hosea 13:8Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 17:8
He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will…
- 2 Samuel 17:8
Through
Hosea 2:5For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 44:17–18
Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials…
- Jeremiah 44:17–18
Through
Isaiah 7:23And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:6
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
- Isaiah 5:6
Through
Isaiah 5:5Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will…
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:18
Your covenant with death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be trampled by it.
- Luke 21:24
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Lamentations 1:15
The Lord has rejected all the mighty men in my midst; He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. Like grapes in a winepress, the Lord has trampled the Virgin…
- Isaiah 28:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Hosea
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 2:10-12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.