Hosea 3:1

Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh commands the prophet to act toward his wife, who is currently with another man, as a living sign to Israel. This directive precedes the prophet's purchase of her with silver and barley (Hosea 3:2).

The words — The Hebrew imperative לֵ֣ךְ (lekh) means "go," and the verb אֱֽהַב־ ('ehav-) commands "love." These terms frame the action as a deliberate movement toward a woman described as אֲהֻ֥בַת ('a.Hu.vat), "one who is loved of another."

The thread — This pattern of divine pursuit toward unfaithful people appears in Jeremiah 3:12, where God commands a proclamation of return for faithless Israel, and in Jeremiah 31:20, where God questions whether Ephraim is not a precious son despite his rebellion.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that divine love operates independently of human faithfulness, demanding obedience to a counterintuitive command before any resolution is provided.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 3:12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.
Isaiah 45:22 Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Jeremiah 31:20 Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.
Hosea 1:2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
Psalms 106:43 Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.
Hosea 11:8 How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!
Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Luke 1:54 He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful,