Hosea 3

1 Then Yahweh said to me, “Go and show to your wife that you still love her, even though she has been committing adultery with another man who loves her. [That will show that] I still love the people of Israel, even though they worship other gods/idols and eat raisin cakes [in feasts that honor those gods].”

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.”

2 [My wife had become a slave, ] but I bought her for (6 ounces/179 grams) of silver and ten bushels of barley.

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

3 Then I said to her, “You must wait for many days [before we sleep together] [EUP]. During that time, you must not be a prostitute, and you must not have sex with any other man; but I will live with you.”

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.”

4 [Our doing that will show that] in the same way, the people of Israel will not have a king and [other] leaders for many years. They will not offer sacrifices or [have sacred stone] pillars, no sacred vest [for the Supreme Priest], and no idols!

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.

5 But later, the people of Israel will return to Yahweh their God and [be guided by him and] by a king who is a descendant of [King] David. In the last/future days they will come to Yahweh, revering him and trembling [in his presence], and he will bless them.

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.