When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think,‘ I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’

她必追随所爱的，却追不上；她必寻找他们，却寻不见，便说：‘我要归回前夫，因我那时的光景比如今还好。’

以致她追随所爱的人，却追不上，寻找他们，却寻不着，就说：“我要回到前夫那里去，因我那时比现在还好。”

以致她追随所爱的人，却追不上，寻找他们，却寻不着，就说：“我要回到前夫那里去，因我那时比现在还好。”

她要追随情人，却追不上；寻找情人，却找不到。于是，她说，‘我倒不如回到丈夫身边，我从前的光景比现在还好。’

她要追赶她那些爱人，却追不上；要寻找他们，却找不着。她就说：‘我要回去，回到前夫那里，因为从前比现在好得多了。’

她必追隨所愛的，卻追不上；她必尋找他們，卻尋不見，便說：我要歸回前夫，因我那時的光景比如今還好。

以致她追隨所愛的人，卻追不上，尋找他們，卻尋不着，就說：「我要回到前夫那裏去，因我那時比現在還好。」

以致她追隨所愛的人，卻追不上，尋找他們，卻尋不着，就說：「我要回到前夫那裏去，因我那時比現在還好。」

她要追隨情人，卻追不上；尋找情人，卻找不到。於是，她說，『我倒不如回到丈夫身邊，我從前的光景比現在還好。』

她要追趕她那些愛人，卻追不上；要尋找他們，卻找不著。她就說：‘我要回去，回到前夫那裡，因為從前比現在好得多了。’

她必追逐她的愛人，卻追不上；她必尋找他們，卻尋不見；便說：「我要去，回歸我的前夫，因為我那時的光景比如今還好。」

彼追情人而不及、尋之而不遇、則曰、我將歸我故夫、彼日之況、較今日尤美也、

彼欲從所懽、而不能、遍索弗得、遂曰我憶昔所懽、其贈余者、多於今日、故必歸之、

彼追隨愛之者不得及、尋之不遇、遂曰、不如歸就前夫、我昔時景況、佳於今日、

She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say,‘ I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’

She will still chase after her lovers. But she won’t catch them. She’ll look for them. But she won’t find them. Then she’ll say,‘ I’ll go back to my husband. That’s where I was at first. I was better off then than I am now.’

She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them. Then she shall say,‘ I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.’

She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will think,“ I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me than now.”

And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say,‘ I will go back to my first husband, Because it was better for me then than now!’

She will chase her lovers, But not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say,‘ I will go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me than now.’

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.

She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will think,“ I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me than now.”

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.

Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch them; she will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say,“ I will go back to my husband, because I was better off then than I am now.”

She will follow after her lovers, but she won’t overtake them; and she will seek them, but won’t find them. Then she will say,‘ I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.’

“ Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the Lord says:“ I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.

“ When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them.

But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me.

Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us.

The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

First here, then there— you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.“ If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the Lord.

For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade.But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.

But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.

This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.

You said,‘ No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!

You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’

“ Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction— those very nations from which you turned away in disgust.

What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers.For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the Lord raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble, and those being helped will fall. They will all fall down and die together.

Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.“ But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.

He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground.He fed them yogurt from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs. He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats, together with the choicest wheat. You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes.“ But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.

I have heard Israel saying,‘ You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God.

So when King Tiglath pileser of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him.Ahaz took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and from the homes of his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But this did not help him.Even during this time of trouble, King Ahaz continued to reject the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:“ Your injury is incurable— a terrible wound.There is no one to help you or to bind up your injury. No medicine can heal you.All your lovers— your allies— have left you and do not care about you anymore. I have wounded you cruelly, as though I were your enemy. For your sins are many, and your guilt is great.Why do you protest your punishment— this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great.

“ In those coming days,” says the Lord,“ the people of Israel will return home together with the people of Judah. They will come weeping and seeking the Lord their God.They will ask the way to Jerusalem and will start back home again. They will bind themselves to the Lord with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.

Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down.

And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”“ Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.

He did all this so you would never say to yourself,‘ I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them.

“ You say,‘ We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.

“ My wayward children,” says the Lord,“ come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”“ Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply,“ for you are the Lord our God.Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters— was squandered on a delusion.Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the Lord our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.”

Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,“ We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.

For this has been decreed by the messengers; it is commanded by the holy ones, so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses— even to the lowliest of people.”

“ The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build.The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land,be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.

“ When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself,‘ At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!I will go home to my father and say,“ Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’“ So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

He was driven from human society. He was given the mind of a wild animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over them.