New King James Version
Hosea 7:16
16They 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)They look everywhere except to the Most High. They are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.
Context of Hosea 7:16
14They did not cry out to Me with their heart When they wailed upon their beds. “They assemble together for grain and new wine, They rebel against Me; 15Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms, Yet they devise evil against Me; 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.
Read all of Hosea 7Hosea 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“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away.
- Hosea 8:14“For Israel has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces.”
- Hosea 11:7My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.
- Psalms 78:37For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
- Jeremiah 3:10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.
- Luke 8:13But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
- Luke 11:24“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
- Psalms 78:57But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
- Hosea 7:13“Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction to them, Because they have transgressed against Me! Though I redeemed them, Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
- Psalms 12:4Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?”
- Psalms 52:2Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- Psalms 57:4My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
- Psalms 73:9They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth.
- Isaiah 3:8For Jerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their doings Are against the Lord, To provoke the eyes of His glory.
- Jeremiah 18:18Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
- Matthew 12:36But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries