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 don’t pray to me sincerely, even though they cry in their beds and make cuts on their bodies while praying for grain and new wine. They have turned against me. 15I trained them and made them strong. Yet, they plan evil against me. They don’t return to the Most High. They are like a defective bow. Their officials will die in battle because they curse. The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.

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“What should I do with you, Ephraim? What should I do with you, Judah? Your love is like fog in the morning. It disappears as quickly as the morning dew.
• Hosea 8:14The people of Israel have built palaces, and they have forgotten their maker. The people of Judah have built many fortified cities. I will send a fire on their cities and burn down their palaces.”
• Hosea 11:7My people are determined to turn away from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will not pardon them.
• Psalms 78:37Their hearts were not loyal to him. They were not faithful to his promise.
• Jeremiah 3:10Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister Judah didn’t wholeheartedly come back to me. She was deceitful,” declares the Lord.
• Luke 8:13Some people are like seeds on rocky soil. They welcome the word with joy whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots. They believe for a while, but when their faith is tested, they abandon it.
• Luke 11:24“When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the home I left.’
• Psalms 78:57They were disloyal and treacherous like their ancestors. They were like arrows shot from a defective bow.
• Hosea 7:13“How horrible it will be for these people. They have run away from me. They must be destroyed because they’ve rebelled against me. I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me.
• Psalms 12:4that has said, “We will overcome with our tongues. With lips such as ours, who can be our master?”
• Psalms 52:2Your tongue makes up threats. It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit.
• Psalms 57:4My soul is surrounded by lions. I must lie down with man-eating lions. Their teeth are spears and arrows. Their tongues are sharp swords.
• Psalms 73:9They verbally attack heaven, and they order people around on earth.
• Isaiah 3:8Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because what they say and what they do is against the Lord. They are defiant in his honored presence.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then they said, “Let’s plot against Jeremiah, because the teachings of the priests, the advice of wise people, and the word of the prophets won’t disappear. Accuse him! Pay no attention to anything he says.”
• Matthew 12:36“I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say.

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