Hosea 2:7
New International Version
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’

New Living Translation
When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, ‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’

English Standard Version
She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them. Then she shall say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.’

Berean Standard Bible
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.’

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
She will chase her lovers, But not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me than now.’

New American Standard Bible
“And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, Because it was better for me then than now!’

NASB 1995
“She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’

NASB 1977
“And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’

Legacy Standard Bible
So she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go, and I will return to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’

Amplified Bible
“She will [passionately] pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘Let me go and return to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’

Christian Standard Bible
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will think, “I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me than now.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will think,” I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me than now.”

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And she shall go after her lovers and she will not overtake them and she will seek them and she will not find them, and she will say: ‘I shall return, I will go myself to my first husband, because it was better to me than now

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And she shall follow after her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: and she shall say, I will go, and return to my former husband; for it was better with me than now.

Contemporary English Version
She will run after her lovers, but not catch them; she will search, but not find them. Then she will say, "I'll return to my first husband. Life was better then."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And she shall follow after her lovers, and shall not overtake them: and she shall seek them, and shall not find, and she shall say: I will go, and return to my first husband, because it was better with me then, than now.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
She will run after her lovers, but she won't catch them. She will search for them, but she won't find them. Then she will say, 'I'll go back to my first husband. Things were better for me than they are now.'

Good News Translation
She will run after her lovers but will not catch them. She will look for them but will not find them. Then she will say, "I am going back to my first husband--I was better off then than I am now."

International Standard Version
She will pursue her lovers, but she won't catch up with them. She will seek them, but she won't find them. Then she will say, 'I'll go back and return to my first husband, because it was better for me then than now.'

JPS Tanakh 1917
And she shall run 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.'

Literal Standard Version
And she has pursued her lovers, | And she does not overtake them, | And has sought them, and does not find [them], | And she has said: I go, and I return to my first husband, | For—better to me then than now.

Majority Standard Bible
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.’

New American Bible
If she runs after her lovers, she will not overtake them; if she seeks them she will not find them. Then she will say, “I will go back to my first husband, for I was better off then than now.”

NET Bible
Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch them; she will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say, "I will go back to my husband, because I was better off then than I am now."

New Revised Standard Version
She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, “I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now.”

New Heart English Bible
She will follow after her lovers, but she won't overtake them; and she will seek them, but won't find them. Then she will say, 'I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.'

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
She will follow after her lovers, but she won’t overtake them; and she will seek them, but won’t find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better with me than now.’

Young's Literal Translation
And she hath pursued her lovers, And she doth not overtake them, And hath sought them, and doth not find, And she hath said: I go, and I turn back unto My first husband, For -- better to me then than now.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel's Adultery Rebuked
6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way. 7She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.’ 8For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.…

Cross References
Luke 15:17
Finally he came to his senses and said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death!

Luke 15:18
I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Jeremiah 2:2
"Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: 'I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

Jeremiah 3:1
"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers--and you would return to Me?" declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 14:22
Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

Ezekiel 16:8
Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 23:4
The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.


Treasury of Scripture

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.

she shall follow.

Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.

2 Chronicles 28:20-22
And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not…

Isaiah 30:2,3,16
That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! …

I will.

Hosea 5:15
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

Hosea 6:1
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

Hosea 14:1
O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

first.

Jeremiah 2:2
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

Jeremiah 3:1
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:32
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

for.

Hosea 13:6
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

Deuteronomy 6:10-12
And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, …

Deuteronomy 8:17,18
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth…

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Hosea 2
1. The idolatry of the people.
6. God's judgments against them.
14. His promises of reconciliation with them.














Verse 7. - And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. This portion of the verse expresses the consequence of the preceding. However eagerly she follows after them - and the form of the verb (Pie! conjugation) expresses that eagerness - she shall only experience the ineffectual nature of her efforts, and feel the impossibility of overtaking the darling objects of her pursuit. However earnestly she seeks them (here the Piel is used again), she shall find every passage barred and every outlet obstructed, so that, unable to find them, she shall be forced to abandon her search as utterly vain and impossible. Then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. The difficulties of her position, the distress in which she found herself, stimulated her to increased eagerness in pursuit of her lovers; but it was only for a brief space, and the efforts were unsuccessful; the means as well as opportunity for the sacrifices and services of idol-worship failed, the obstacles placed in her way were insurmountable. Or, rather, the disappointment was so great and grievous, when all the fondly cherished hopes of help, or succor, or support from those idols were frustrated and found entirely vain, that heartsick and chagrined by unsuccess, she resolves on a change of course. With mingled feelings of remorse and penitence she makes up her mind to retrace her steps. She recalls the better days, the happier time, the more prosperous circumstances, of fidelity to her first and rightful husband and head; and now she is just ready to return to him. She is just now at that stage at which the prodigal in the parable had arrived "when He came to himself," and when he said, "How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father." Kimchi remarks," She will not say this until she has borne the captivity a considerable time."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
She will pursue
וְרִדְּפָ֤ה (wə·rid·də·p̄āh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7291: To pursue, chase, persecute

her lovers
מְאַהֲבֶ֙יהָ֙ (mə·’a·hă·ḇe·hā)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 157: To have affection f

but not
וְלֹֽא־ (wə·lō-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

catch
תַשִּׂ֣יג (ṯaś·śîḡ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5381: To reach, overtake

them;
אֹתָ֔ם (’ō·ṯām)
Direct object marker | third person masculine plural
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

she will seek them
וּבִקְשָׁ֖תַם (ū·ḇiq·šā·ṯam)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after

but not
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

find them.
תִמְצָ֑א (ṯim·ṣā)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

Then she will say,
וְאָמְרָ֗ה (wə·’ā·mə·rāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘I will return
וְאָשׁ֙וּבָה֙ (wə·’ā·šū·ḇāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

my first
הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן (hā·ri·šō·wn)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7223: First, in place, time, rank

husband,
אִישִׁ֣י (’î·šî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

for
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

then
אָ֖ז (’āz)
Adverb
Strong's 227: At that time, place, therefore

I was better off
ט֥וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

than now.’
מֵעָֽתָּה׃ (mê·‘āt·tāh)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 6258: At this time


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OT Prophets: Hosea 2:7 She will follow after her lovers (Ho Hs Hos.)
Hosea 2:6
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