Hosea 2:7 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Hosea 2:5 For their mother hath committed fornication, she that conceived them is covered with shame: for she said: I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax, my oil, and my drink.

Hosea 2:6 Wherefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will stop it up with a wall, and she shall not find her paths.

Hosea 2:7 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.

Hosea 2:8 And she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver, and gold, which they have used in the service of Baal.

Hosea 2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in its season, and my wine in its season, and I will set at liberty my wool, and my flax, which covered her disgrace.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "follow", "after", "lovers", "overtake", and "seek". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "follow", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Wherefore behold I will hedge up thy..." into verse 8's "And she did not know that I...", so "shall" and "follow" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "follow" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.