Hosea 3:3

3 Then I told her, "You must wait for me a long time. Don't be a prostitute or offer yourself to any man. I will wait for 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 Then the LORD told me, "Love your wife again, even though she is loved by others and has committed adultery. Love her as I, the LORD, love the Israelites, even though they have turned to other gods and love to eat raisin cakes."

2 So I bought her for 23 ounces of silver and 10 bushels of barley.

3 Then I told her, "You must wait for me a long time. Don't be a prostitute or offer yourself to any man. I will wait for you."

4 In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephods or family idols.

5 After that, the Israelites will turn and look to the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD for his blessings in the last days.