20 Heb “overtake” (so , , , ); “be able to catch up with.”
21 In the Hebrew text the accusative direct object pronoun אֹתָם (’otam, “them”) is omitted/elided for balanced poetic parallelism. The supplies αὐτους (autous, “them”); but it is not necessary to emend the because this is a poetic literary convention rather than a textual problem.
22 Heb “I will go and return” (so ). The two verbs joined with vav form a verbal hendiadys. Normally, the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense ( §120.d, h). The Hebrew phrase אֵלְכָה וְאָשׁוּבָה (’elkhah vé’ashuvah, “I will go and I will return”) connotes, “I will return again.” As cohortatives, both verbs emphasize the resolution of the speaker.
23 Heb “to my man, the first.” Many English translations (e.g., , , , ) take this as “my first husband,” although this implies that there was more than one husband involved. The text refers to multiple lovers, but these were not necessarily husbands.
24 Or “because it was better for me then than now” (cf. ).

In other versions

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 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 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.”

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.’

Then she will pursue her lovers,

but she will not overtake them;

she will seek them and not find them;

and she will say, “I will go

and return to my first husband

because it was better for me then 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.

Public Domain