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.
So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:
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.
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:
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.
Canonical academic citations for Hosea 3 (KJV) — copy in your preferred format.
Hosea 3 (KJV). Prime Bible, accessed July 25, 2026. https://primebible.com/kjv/hosea/3.
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Hosea buys back his adulterous wife, foreshadowing Israel’s long season without king or sacrifice before they return in the latter days to seek the LORD and ‘David’ their king.
Marriage metaphor portrays Israel's unfaithfulness and God's persistent love.
Hosea 3 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.