Hoshea 3:3

3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide with me yamim rabbim and shalt not play the zonah, and thou shalt not be for another ish; and thus will I also towards thee.

Hoshea 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:

Hoshea 3:3 In-Context

1 Then said Hashem unto me, Go again, love an isha (woman, wife) beloved of her re’a (friend, companion), yet a noefet (adulteress), just like the ahavat Hashem toward the Bnei Yisroel, who look to elohim acharim, and love heathen religion raisin cakes [Yirmeyah 44:19].

2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of kesef, and for a chomer and a half of se’orim, [1K 1:18-19 OJBC];

3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide with me yamim rabbim and shalt not play the zonah, and thou shalt not be for another ish; and thus will I also towards thee.

4 For the Bnei Yisroel shall abide yamim rabbim without a melech, and without a sar, and without a zevach, and without a matzevah (stone pillar, monument) and without an ephod (sacred vest used for consulting a deity), and without teraphim (household idols);

5 Afterward shall the Bnei Yisroel return, and seek Hashem Eloheihem, and Dovid their melech [i.e., Moshiach]; and shall fear Hashem and His goodness in the acharit hayamim (last days).