Hosea 2:12
Context2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution 1
that my lovers gave to me!”
I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees 2 into an uncultivated thicket,
so that wild animals 3 will devour them.
Hosea 2:18
Context2:18 “At that time 4 I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals,
the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
I will abolish 5 the warrior’s bow and sword
– that is, every weapon of warfare 6 – from the land,
and I will allow them to live securely.” 7
1 tn Heb “my wages.” The words “for prostitution” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied for clarity; cf. CEV “gave…as payment for sex.”
2 tn Heb “I will turn them”; the referents (vines and fig trees) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so KJV, NASB); the same expression also occurs in v. 18).
4 tn Heb “And in that day” (so KJV, ASV).
5 tn Heb “I will break”; NAB “I will destroy”; NCV “I will smash”; NLT “I will remove.”
6 tn Heb “bow and sword and warfare.” The first two terms in the triad וְקֶשֶׁת וְחֶרֶב וּמִלְחָמָה (vÿqeshet vÿkherev umilkhamah, literally, “bow and sword and warfare”) are examples of synecdoche of specific (bow and sword) for general (weapons of war, so CEV). However, they might be examples of metonymy (bow and sword) of association (warfare).
7 tn Heb “and I will cause them to lie down in safety.” The causative nuance (“will make them”) is retained in several English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).