Hosea 2:7

Faithfulness and loyalty

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.

⁶ Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

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.

⁸ For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

⁹ Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: 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.’
KJV: 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.
WEB: 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.’
ASV: 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.
DARBY: And she shall pursue after her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, and shall not find them: and she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now.
BLB: And she will pursue her lovers, and she will not overtake them; she will seek them, and she will not find [them]. She will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for [it was] better for me then than now!’

ÅB: når hun løper etter sine elskere, skal hun ikke nå dem, når hun søker dem, skal hun ikke finne dem. Da skal hun si: Jeg vil vende tilbake til min første mann; for dengang hadde jeg det bedre enn nå.
OTB: Hun vil jage etter sine elskere, men ikke nå dem; hun vil søke dem, men ikke finne dem. Da vil hun si: ‘Jeg vil vende tilbake til min første mann, for det var bedre for meg da enn nå.’
B1930: når hun løper efter sine elskere, skal hun ikke nå dem, når hun søker dem, skal hun ikke finne dem. Da skal hun si: Jeg vil vende tilbake til min første mann; for dengang hadde jeg det bedre enn nu.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

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.
Read in context
Luke 15:17–20
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Read in context
Jeremiah 14:22
Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
Read in context
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.
Read in context
Ezekiel 23:22
Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
Read in context
Ezekiel 23:4
And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
Read in context
Hosea 13:6
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 8:17–18
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
Read in context