Hosea 3:3
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And I said to her, You shall abide for me many days; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not be for another man: so will I also be for you.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And I said to her, You shall abide for me many days; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not be for another man: so will I also be for you.
American Standard Version (ASV)
and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And I said to her, You are to be mine for a long space of time; you are not to be false to me, and no other man is to have you for his wife; and so will I be to you.
Webster's Revision
And I said to 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.
World English Bible
I said to her, "You shall stay with me many days. You shall not play the prostitute, and you shall not be with any other man. I will also be so toward you."
English Revised Version (ERV)
and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.
Clarke's Hosea 3:3 Bible Commentary
Thou shalt abide for me many days - He did not take her home, but made a contract with her that, if she would abstain from her evil ways, he would take her to himself after a sufficient trial. In the meantime he gave her the money and the barley to subsist upon, that she might not be under the temptation of becoming again unfaithful.
So will I also be for thee - That is, if thou, Israel, wilt keep thyself separate from thy idolatry, and give me proof, by thy total abstinence from idols, that thou wilt be my faithful worshipper, I will receive thee again, and in the meantime support thee with the necessaries of life while thou art in the land of thy captivity. This is farther illustrated in the following verses.
Barnes's Hosea 3:3 Bible Commentary
Thou shalt abide for me many days - Literally, "thou shalt sit," solitary and as a widow Deuteronomy 21:13, quiet and sequestered; not going after others, as heretofore, but waiting for him; Exodus 24:14; Jeremiah 3:2); and "that," for an undefined, but long season, until he should come and take her to himself.
And thou shalt not be for another man - Literally, "and thou shalt not be to a man," i. e., not even to thine own man or husband. She was to remain without following sin, yet without restoration to conjugal rights. Her husband would be her guardian; but as yet, no more. So will "I also be for thee or toward thee." He does not say "to thee," so as to belong to her, but "toward thee;" i. e., he would have regard, respect to her; he would watch over her, be kindly disposed toward her; he, his affections, interests, thoughts, would be directed "toward" her. The word toward expresses regard, yet distance also. Just so would God, in those times, withhold all special tokens of His favor, covenant, providence; yet would he secretly uphold and maintain them as a people, and withhold them from falling wholly from Him into the gulf of irreligion and infidelity.
Wesley's Hosea 3:3 Bible Commentary
3:3 Abide for me - Thou shalt wait unmarried, until I espouse thee.