The Meaning of Hosea 2:7 Explained

Hosea 2:7

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.

YLT: 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.

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.

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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Hosea 2:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Consequently, Gomer would pursue her lovers but not be able to catch up with them. She would seek them but not find them. Out of frustration she would give up pursuing them and return to her husband. She would conclude that she was better off with him than with them.
Out of frustration Israel would turn back to Yahweh.

Context Summary

Hosea 2:1-13 - The Bitter Sin Of Wandering From God
Hosea is represented as having exhausted his expostulations upon his faithless wife. He has tried every arrow in love's quiver, but in vain; so now he sends his children, worse than motherless, to plead with their mother, before she brings upon them all irretrievable retribution.
Almost insensibly our mind passes from the pleadings of the human love to the divine Bridegroom. Often He has to erect thorn hedges about us-not that He takes pleasure in thwarting us, but that we may be diverted from ruin. There was no better method of turning Israel from her idols than by withholding that material prosperity which she thought they gave. Has not this been our experience also? Our mirth has ceased and our prosperity has vanished. We have sat amid the wrecks of a happy past. It is not that God has ceased to care for us, but that He longs to wean us back to Himself. Have we reached the point of saying, "It was better with me then than now?" Then let us be of good cheer! The dawn is already on the hills, and God's coming to us, in restoring grace, is like the breaking glory of the morning! [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 2

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

What do the individual words in Hosea 2:7 mean?

And she will chase - her lovers but not overtake them and Yes she will seek them but not find [them] and she will say I will go and return to my husband first for [it was] better for me then than now
וְרִדְּפָ֤ה אֶת־ מְאַהֲבֶ֙יהָ֙ וְלֹֽא־ תַשִּׂ֣יג אֹתָ֔ם וּבִקְשָׁ֖תַם וְלֹ֣א תִמְצָ֑א וְאָמְרָ֗ה אֵלְכָ֤ה וְאָשׁ֙וּבָה֙ אֶל־ אִישִׁ֣י הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן כִּ֣י ט֥וֹב לִ֛י אָ֖ז מֵעָֽתָּה

וְרִדְּפָ֤ה  And  she  will  chase 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מְאַהֲבֶ֙יהָ֙  her  lovers 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אָהַב  
Sense: to love.
וְלֹֽא־  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תַשִּׂ֣יג  overtake 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מַשֶּׂגֶת 
Sense: to reach, overtake, take hold upon.
וּבִקְשָׁ֖תַם  and  Yes  she  will  seek  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
וְלֹ֣א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִמְצָ֑א  find  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
וְאָמְרָ֗ה  and  she  will  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלְכָ֤ה  I  will  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְאָשׁ֙וּבָה֙  and  return 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
אִישִׁ֣י  my  husband 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן  first 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רִאשֹׁון  
Sense: first, primary, former.
ט֥וֹב  [it  was]  better 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
לִ֛י  for  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
מֵעָֽתָּה  than  now 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.