Hosea 3

Hosea buys her back

he Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” ²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.” ⁴For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.

⁵Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.a

Commentary

In Hosea 3, the prophet is commanded to love an adulterous woman again, mirroring God's relentless love for Israel despite their idolatry. This short chapter pivots from judgment to restoration, as Hosea buys back his estranged wife Gomer from slavery or prostitution and places her

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Bible Dictionary· Hosea 3(1)

The Way

Bible Characters· Hosea 3(1)

David

References· Hosea 3

a: v.5 — Jeremiah 50:4-5, Jeremiah 30:9, Ezekiel 34:23-24, Isaiah 2:2, Ezekiel 37:22-25, Romans 2:4, Isaiah 55:3-4, Psalms 130:3-4, Ezekiel 16:63, Micah 4:1

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