Hosea 2:7 - Easy To Read Version She will run after her lovers, but she will not be able to catch up with them. She will look for her lovers, but she will not be able to find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband (God). Life was better for me when I was with him. Life was better then than it is now.’ Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 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. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition And she shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them [inquiring for and requiring them], but shall not find them. Then shall she say, Let me go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now. American Standard Version (1901) 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. Common English Bible She will go after 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 will return to my first husband, for I had it better then than now.” Catholic Public Domain Version And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not obtain them, and she will seek them, but she will not find them, and she will say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, because it was to some extent better for me then, than it is now.' Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version 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. |
He offered sacrifices {\cf2\super [327]} to the gods the people of Damascus worshiped. The people of Damascus had defeated Ahaz. So he thought to himself, “The gods the people of Aram worship helped them. So if I offer sacrifices to those gods, maybe they will help me also.” Ahaz worshiped those gods. In this way he sinned, and he made the people of Israel sin.
You say, “No, we need horses to run away on!” That is true—you will run away on horses. But the enemy will chase you. And the enemy will be faster than your horses.
Foreign idols don’t have the power\par to bring rain.\par The sky does not have the power\par to send showers of rain down.\par You are our only hope.\par You are the One who made all these things.”\par
Let those idols come and save you!\par Where are the idols\par that you have made for yourselves?\par Let’s see if those idols come\par and save you when you are in trouble.\par Judah, you have as many idols as cities!\par
It is so easy for you to change your mind.\par Assyria disappointed you,\par \{so you left Assyria\par and went to Egypt for help.\}\par But Egypt will also disappoint you.\par
“If a man divorces his wife,\par and she leaves him\par and marries another man,\par can that man come back to his wife again?\par No! If that man went back to that woman, {\cf2\super [14]} \par then that land would become ‘dirty.’\par Judah, you acted like a prostitute\par with many lovers (false gods).\par And now you want to come back to me!”\par This message was from the Lord.\par
I have heard Ephraim {\cf2\super [254]} crying.\par I heard Ephraim say these things:\par ‘Lord, you really punished me!\par And I learned my lesson.\par I was like a calf that was never trained.\par Please stop punishing me,\par and I will come back to you.\par You truly are the Lord my God.\par
It will not be like the Agreement I made with their ancestors. {\cf2\super [260]} I made that Agreement when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. I was their Master, but they broke that Agreement.” This message is from the Lord.
We promised to make sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven. {\cf2\super [357]} And we will do everything we promised. We will offer sacrifices and pour out drink offerings in worship to her. We did that in the past. And our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did that in the past. All of us did those things in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At the time we worshiped the Queen of Heaven, we had plenty of food. We were successful. Nothing bad happened to us.
Then you took the beautiful cloth and made clothes for those statues. You took the perfume and incense I gave you, and you put it in front of those idols.
I looked you over. I saw you were ready for love. So I spread my clothes over you {\cf2\super [118]} and covered your nakedness. I promised to marry you. I made the agreement {\cf2\super [119]} with you. And you became mine.’” The Lord my Master said these things.
You keep saying you want to be like the other nations. You live like the people in other nations. You serve pieces of wood and stone (idols)!’”
She wanted the Assyrian leaders and officers. She wanted those soldiers in blue uniforms riding their horses. They were all desirable young men.
So Oholibah, the Lord my Master says these things, ‘You became disgusted with your lovers. But I will bring your lovers here. They will surround you.
The older daughter was named Oholah. {\cf2\super [180]} And her sister was named Oholibah. {\cf2\super [181]} Those sisters became my wives. And we had children. (Oholah is really Samaria. And Oholibah is really Jerusalem.)
A holy angel announced this punishment. Why? So all the people on earth may know that God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. God gives those kingdoms to anyone he wants to. And God chooses humble people to rule those kingdoms!
King Nebuchadnezzar, you will be forced to go away from people. You will live among the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle. And you will become wet with dew. {\cf2\super [46]} Seven seasons (years) will pass, and then you will learn this lesson. You will learn God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. And God Most High gives kingdoms to anyone he wants.
You will be forced to go away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow. Seven seasons (years) will pass before you learn your lesson. Then you will learn that God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. And that God Most High gives kingdoms to anyone he wants.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was forced to go away from people. His mind became like the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like a cow. He became wet with dew. {\cf2\super [59]} These things happened to him until he learned his lesson. Then he learned that God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. And God Most High sets anyone he wants over kingdoms.
This was the Lord’s first message to Hosea. The Lord said, “Go, marry a prostitute {\cf2\super [1]} that has had children as a result of her prostitution. Why? Because the people in this country have acted like prostitutes—they have been unfaithful to the Lord.”
\{I gave food to the Israelites.\} They ate that food. They became full and satisfied. They became proud. And they forgot me!
Israel, you fell and sinned against God. So come back to the Lord your God.
Ephraim saw his sickness,\par and Judah saw his wound.\par So they went to Assyria for help.\par They told their problems to the great king.\par But that king can’t heal you.\par He can’t cure your wound.\par
I will go back to my place,\par until the people admit they are guilty,\par until they come looking for me.\par Yes, in their trouble they will try hard\par to find me.”\par