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Then said Hashem unto me, Go again, love an isha (woman, wife) beloved of her re’a (friend, companion), yet a noefet (adulteress), just like the ahavat Hashem toward the Bnei Yisroel, who look to elohim acharim, and love heathen religion raisin cakes [Yirmeyah 44:19].

So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of kesef, and for a chomer and a half of se’orim, [1K 1:18-19 OJBC];

And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide with me yamim rabbim and shalt not play the zonah, and thou shalt not be for another ish; and thus will I also towards thee.

For the Bnei Yisroel shall abide yamim rabbim without a melech, and without a sar, and without a zevach, and without a matzevah (stone pillar, monument) and without an ephod (sacred vest used for consulting a deity), and without teraphim (household idols);

Afterward shall the Bnei Yisroel return, and seek Hashem Eloheihem, and Dovid their melech [i.e., Moshiach]; and shall fear Hashem and His goodness in the acharit hayamim (last days).

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(A) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(B)

So I bought her for fifteen shekels[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[b] of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,(C) without sacrifice(D) or sacred stones,(E) without ephod(F) or household gods.(G) Afterward the Israelites will return and seek(H) the Lord their God and David their king.(I) They will come trembling(J) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.(K)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
  2. Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.