Hosea 3:3

3 And I said to it, By many days thou shalt abide me; thou shalt not do fornication, and thou shalt not be with an husband, but also I shall abide thee. (And I said to her, For many days thou shalt wait for me; thou shalt not do adultery, or idolatry, and thou shalt not be with a husband, and also I shall wait for 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 the Lord said to me, Yet go thou, and love a woman loved of a friend, and a woman adulteress, as the Lord loveth the sons of Israel; and they behold to alien gods, and love the dregs of grapes. (And the Lord said to me, Now go thou, and love a woman loved by a friend, yea, a woman who is an adulteress, like the Lord loveth the Israelites; even though they turn to strange, or foreign, gods, and love the dregs, or the lees, of grapes.)

2 And I delved it to me by fifteen pence, and by a cor of barley, and by half a cor of barley. (And so I bought her back for me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a cor of barley, and for half a cor of barley.)

3 And I said to it, By many days thou shalt abide me; thou shalt not do fornication, and thou shalt not be with an husband, but also I shall abide thee. (And I said to her, For many days thou shalt wait for me; thou shalt not do adultery, or idolatry, and thou shalt not be with a husband, and also I shall wait for thee.)

4 For by many days the sons of Israel shall sit without king, without prince, and without sacrifice, and without altar, and without priest's cloak, and without teraphim, that is, images. (And so for many days the Israelites shall sit without a king, and without a prince/yea, without a leader, and without sacrifices, and without altars, and without sacred pillars, and without teraphim, or idols.)

5 And after these things the sons of Israel shall turn again, and shall seek their Lord God, and David, their king; and they shall dread at the Lord, and at the good of him, in the last days. (And after these things the Israelites shall repent, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David, their king; and they shall fear the Lord, and shall receive good things from him, in the coming days.)