Hosea 3 (DBY)

Chapter Text

3:1 And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of a friend, and an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah for the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love raisin-cakes.

3:2 So I bought her to me for fifteen silver [pieces], and for a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley.

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

3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without statue, and without ephod and teraphim.

3:5 Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king; and shall turn with fear toward Jehovah and toward his goodness, at the end of the days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "said", "again", "love", "woman", "beloved", "friend", and "adulteress". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local DBY text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "jehovah" and "said" carries the first interpretive weight. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jehovah" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.