Hosea 3:3

3 Then 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.”

Hosea 3:3 in Other Translations

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

3 And I said to her, "You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you."

3 Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. ”

3 Then I told her, "From now on you're living with me. No more whoring, no more sleeping around. You're living with me and I'm living with you."

3 I said to her, "You must live with me many days. Don't be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you."

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 The 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.”

2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.

3 Then 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.”

4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.

5 Afterward 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.