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Hosea 3
New King James Version
Hosea 3
New King James Version
Israel Will Return to God
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a (A)lover[a] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You shall (B)stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days (C)without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without (D)ephod or (E)teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and (F)seek the Lord their God and (G)David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the (H)latter days.
Footnotes
- Hosea 3:1 Lit. friend or husband
Hosea 3
New American Standard Bible
Hosea 3
New American Standard Bible
Hosea’s Redemption of Gomer
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love [a]a woman who is loved by her [b]husband, yet is committing adultery, (A)as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love [c]raisin (B)cakes.” 2 So I (C)purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a [d]homer and a [e]lethech of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall (D)live with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute, nor shall you have another man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will live for many days (E)without a king or leader, (F)without sacrifice or (G)memorial stone, and without (H)ephod or [f](I)household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will (J)return and seek the Lord their God and (K)David their king; and (L)they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.
Hosea 3
Amplified Bible
Hosea 3
Amplified Bible
Hosea’s Second Symbolic Marriage
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman ([a]Gomer) who is beloved by her husband and yet is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the [b]children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love the raisin cakes [used in the feasts in pagan worship].” 2 So I bought her for myself for [c]fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley [the price of a common slave]. 3 And I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you [until you have proved your faithfulness].” 4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without [d]ephod or teraphim (household idols). 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days.(A)
Footnotes
- Hosea 3:1 The ambiguous wording might be interpreted as referring to a different woman, but this time Hosea is told only to love her, not to take, i.e. marry her. Also, the application of the symbolism to God’s relationship with Israel seems to depend upon the woman’s being Gomer. The purpose of the ambiguities probably is to reflect the emotional estrangement between Hosea and Gomer and the contempt that she deserved for her behavior. Matthew’s anonymous reference to Bathsheba literally as “wife of Uriah” (Matt 1:6).
- Hosea 3:1 See note 1:10.
- Hosea 3:2 Hosea bought Gomer back after she had become a slave. The silver and barley together totaled about thirty pieces of silver. See Ex 21:7, 32; 2 Kin 7:1, 16, 18.
- Hosea 3:4 A garment worn by priests when seeking divine counsel.
Hosea 3
New International Version
Hosea 3
New International Version
Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife
3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(A) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(B)”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[b] 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,(C) without sacrifice(D) or sacred stones,(E) without ephod(F) or household gods.(G) 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek(H) the Lord their God and David their king.(I) They will come trembling(J) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.(K)
Hosea 3
King James Version
Hosea 3
King James Version
3 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an 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 for another man: so will I also be for thee.
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.