Hosea 7:16

Hosea 7:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
• New International Version (NIV)They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They return, but not to the Most High; They are like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword For the cursings of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Context of Hosea 7:16

14They do not pray and trust me to help them. Instead, they lie down on their beds and they weep loudly. They cut their bodies to get grain and wine. They turn away from me. 15I taught them what was right. I made them strong. But now they have decided to do evil things against me. They do not look up to me for help. They are as useless as a bow that cannot shoot an arrow properly. Their leaders are proud of their own strength, but they will die in battle. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.’

Hosea 7:16 word by word

יָשׁ֣וּבוּ׀ לֹ֣א עָ֗ל הָיוּ֙ כְּקֶ֣שֶׁת רְמִיָּ֔ה יִפְּל֥וּ בַחֶ֛רֶב שָׂרֵיהֶ֖ם מִזַּ֣עַם לְשׁוֹנָ֑ם ז֥וֹ לַעְגָּ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• not to the most Highעַל‛al · heightH5920
• they are like a deceitfulרְמִיָּהremîyâh · deceitH7423
• bowקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198
• their princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• shall fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: killH5307
• by the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• for the rageזַ֫עַםza‛am · indignationH2195
• of their tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• thisזוֹzô · thisH2097
• their derisionלַ֫עַגla‛ag · derisionH3933
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for Hosea 7:16

• Hosea 6:4‘People of Ephraim and Judah, can I forgive you so easily? Your love for me soon disappears. It goes away as quickly as mist or dew in the morning.
• Hosea 8:14Israel's people have built beautiful palaces. But they have forgotten me, who made them into a nation! Judah's people have built many strong cities. But I will send fire to destroy their cities and their strong buildings.’
• Hosea 11:7My people have decided to turn away from me. That is all that they can think about. They call up to a God who rules above, but he will not help them.
• Psalms 78:37They did not really trust him. They did not obey the covenant that he had made with them.
• Jeremiah 3:10Still Judah has not turned back to me. She wants me to think that she has, but she has not. Like her sister, Israel, she has not been faithful.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Luke 8:13Some seeds fell on ground with rocks in it. This is like people who hear the message from God and they are very happy for a time. But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. They believe in God for a short time. But when they have problems, they stop believing.
• Luke 11:24Jesus then said, ‘When a bad spirit goes out of a person, it travels through dry places. It looks for a new place to live. But maybe it does not find anywhere. So it says to itself, “I will return to the place where I lived before.”
• Psalms 78:57They turned away from him and they deceived him, as their ancestors had done. They were useless, like a bow that would not shoot straight!
• Hosea 7:13Terrible trouble will happen to them, because they have gone away from me. They have turned against me, so they will die. I wanted to rescue them, but they have told lies about me.
• Psalms 12:4They say: ‘Nobody can tell us what to do! We will say what we like to get what we want!’
• Psalms 52:2Your tongue is like a sharp knife! You talk about how to hurt other people, You speak nothing but lies.
• Psalms 57:4My enemies are all round me, like hungry lions! I must lie down among wild animals, that want to eat me! They are men who use spears and arrows to bite like teeth. They use their tongues to hurt people, like sharp swords.
• Psalms 73:9They think that they rule in heaven, as well as on the earth!
• Isaiah 3:8Jerusalem is falling down! The towns of Judah are in trouble! The Lord hates the things that their people say and the things that they do. They have turned against the Lord and they insult him.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then some people said, ‘We must find a way to stop Jeremiah. We do not need him. The priests will still be here to teach us. Wise men will still be here to give us advice. The prophets will still be here to give us God's messages. We should speak bad things against Jeremiah. Then we will not have to listen to him any more.’
• Matthew 12:36I tell you this: One day, God will judge everybody. On that day, he will ask you about every useless word that you have spoken.

Commentaries on Hosea 7:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16They return, but not to the Most High - They go to their idols. They are like a deceitful bow - Which, when it is reflexed, in order to be strung, suddenly springs back into its quiescent curve; for the eastern bows stand in their quiescent state in a curve; and in order to be strung must be beaded back in the opposite direction. This bending of the bow requires both strength and skill; and if not properly done, it will fly back, and regain its former…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16They return, but not to the most High - God exhorts by Jeremiah, “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto Me” Jeremiah 4:1. They changed, whenever they did change, with a feigned, hypocritical conversion, but not to God, nor acknowledging His Majesty. Man, until truly converted, turns to and fro, unstably, hither and thither, changing from one evil to another, from the sins of youth to the sins of age, from the sins of prosperity to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-16Verses 8-16 Israel was as a cake not turned, half burnt and half dough, none of it fit for use; a mixture of idolatry and of the worship of Jehovah. There were tokens of approaching ruin, as grey hairs are of old age, but they noticed them not. The pride which leads to break the law of God leads to self-flattery. The mercy and grace of God are the only refuge to which obstinate sinners never think of fleeing. Though they may howl forth their terrors in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16A faulty or loose bow cannot shoot an arrow to the target. This represents Israel's failure without God (see Hosea 7:8, 11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. return, but not to the Most High--or, "to one who is not the Most High," one very different from Him, a stock or a stone. So the Septuagint. deceitful bow--(Psa 78:57). A bow which, from its faulty construction, shoots wide of the mark. So Israel pretends to seek God, but turns aside to idols. for the rage of their tongue--their boast of safety from Egyptian aid, and their "lies" (Ho 7:13), whereby they pretended to serve God, while worshipping idols…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 7:16

• Anger
• Confidence
• Hypocrisy

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Most High
• Bow
• Troop
• Hosea
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Hosea 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings