Hosea 3:3

3 and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.

Hosea 3:3 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 3:3

And I said unto her
Having bought or hired her; this was the covenant or agreement he made with her, thou shall abide for me many days;
dwell alone in some solitary and separate place, and have no conversation with any, especially with men; live like a widow that has lost her husband, and so wait for a long time till the prophet should think fit to take her to his house and bed: thou shall not play the harlot, and thou shall not be for another man;
neither prostitute herself, as she had done to her lovers; nor marry another, but keep herself chaste and single: so will I also be for thee;
wait for thee, and not take another wife; or will be thy husband, after having made proper trial and full proof of thy conduct and behaviour: the Targum paraphrases it thus;

``say, O prophet, to her, O congregation of Israel, your sins are the cause that you are carried captive many days; ye shall give yourselves to my worship and not err, nor serve idols, and even I will have mercy on you.''

The whole is explained in the following words:

Hosea 3:3 In-Context

1 And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of [her] friend, and an adulteress, even as Jehovah loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.

2 So I bought her to me for fifteen [pieces] of silver, and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;

3 and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim:

5 afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto Jehovah and to his goodness in the latter days.