Hosea 3

1 The Lord told me, “Go again and love a woman who is loved by another and who is committing adultery, just as the Lord loves the children of Israel, even though they turn to other gods and love their sensual worship.”

Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, show love to this woman, who is loved by another, who commits adultery. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods, and love the raisin cakes offered to idols.

2 So I bought her back for fifteen shekels of silver and one and half homer of barley.

So I redeemed her for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a lethek of barley.

3 I told her, “You must remain with me for many days and you shall stop your prostitution. You shall not be intimate with any man, and then I shall be yours.”

And I told her, ‘You must live with me for many days and you must not sleep around or marry another. And I will do the same for you.

4 For the people of Israel shall be without a king or a prince, without a sacrifice or a stone pillar or a pagan image or an idolatrous shrine for a long time.

And like this the Israelites will live for a long time without king and without prince, without sacrifice and without pillar, without ephod and without teraphim.

5 After this, the people of Israel will return and dedicate themselves to the Lord their God and to the line of David their king. In the last days they will come with awe and reverence for the Lord and his goodness.

Yet afterward the Israelites will return, and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king, and in the days to come they will turn with awe to the Lord and his goodness.