the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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THE MESSAGE
Hosea 3:1
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Then the Lord said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”
The LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Yisra'el, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins."
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.
And the Lord said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."
Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet is committing adultery, as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."
The Lord said to me again, "Go, show your love to a woman loved by someone else, who has been unfaithful to you. In the same way the Lord loves the people of Israel, even though they worship other gods and love to eat the raisin cakes."
Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman (Gomer) who is beloved by her husband and yet is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love the raisin cakes [used in the feasts in pagan worship]."
Then said the Lord to me, Goe yet, and loue a woman (beloued of her husbande, and was an harlot) according to the loue of the Lorde toward the children of Israel: yet they looked to other gods, and loued the wine bottels.
Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."
Then Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her companion and is an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."
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 offer raisin cakes."
Once again the Lord spoke to me. And this time he said, "Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit."
Adonai said to me, "Go once more, and show love to [this] wife [of yours] who has been loved by her boyfriend, to this adulteress — just as Adonai loves the people of Isra'el, even though they turn to other gods and love the raisin cakes [offered to them]."
And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of a friend, and an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah for the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love raisin-cakes.
Then the Lord said to me again, "Gomer has many lovers, but you must continue loving her. Do this because it is an example of the Lord 's love for Israel. He continues to love them, but they continue to turn to other gods, and they love to eat those raisin cakes."
THEN the LORD said to me, Go again, love a woman who is fond of doing evil things and an adulteress, as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they have turned and have gone after other gods, and love raisin cakes.
The Lord said to me, "Go again and show your love for a woman who is committing adultery with a lover. You must love her just as I still love the people of Israel, even though they turn to other gods and like to take offerings of raisins to idols."
And Yahweh said to me again, "Go, love a woman who has a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of Yahweh for the children of Israel, but they are turning to other gods and love raisin cakes."
And Jehovah said to me, Go again, love a woman loved by a friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah toward the sons of Israel, who turn to other gods, and love raisin cakes of grapes.
And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of her friend, and an adulteress, even as Jehovah loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.
And the Lord said to me, Give your love again to a woman who has a lover and is false to her husband, even as the Lord has love for the children of Israel, though they are turned to other gods and are lovers of grape-cakes.
And the LORD said unto me: 'Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend and an adulteress, even as the LORD loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.
Then said the Lord vnto me, Goe yet, loue a woman (beloued of her friend, yet an adulteresse) according to the loue of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who looke to other gods, and loue flagons of wine.
Then sayd the Lorde to me: Go yet and loue a woman beloued of her husbande, and yet an adultresse, according to the loue of the Lorde towarde the chyldren of Israel: and yet they haue respect to straunge gods, and loue the wine pottes.
And the Lord said to me, Go yet, and love a woman that loves evil things, an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, and they have respect to strange gods, and love cakes of dried grapes.
And the LORD said unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend and an adulteress, even as the LORD loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.
Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins."
And the Lord seide to me, Yit go thou, and loue a womman loued of a frend, and a womman auoutresse, as the Lord loueth the sones of Israel; and thei biholden to alien goddis, and louen the draffis of grapis.
And Yahweh said to me, Go again, love a woman loved by her husband, but [is] an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins.
Then said the LORD to me, Go yet, love a woman beloved by [her] friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD towards the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
The Lord said to me, "Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the Lord loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols."
Then the Lord said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover [fn] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans."
Then the Lord said to me, "Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them."
Then the Lord said to me, "Go again and love your wife, even when she is loved by another and is not faithful. Love her as the Lord loves the people of Israel, even when they turn to other gods and love cakes of dried grapes."
The Lord said to me again, "Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."
Then said Yahweh unto me, Once more, go love a woman who loveth a friend, and is an adulteress, - according to the love of Yahweh unto the sons of Israel, though they keep turning away unto other gods, and love idolatrous raisin-cakes.
And the Lord said to me: Go yet again, and love a woman beloved of her friend, and an adulteress: as the Lord loveth the children of Israel, and they look to strange gods, and love the husks of the grapes.
And the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress; even as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."
And Jehovah saith unto me: `Again, go, love a woman, loved of a friend, and an adulteress, like the loved of Jehovah, the sons of Israel, and they are turning unto other gods, and are lovers of grape-cakes.'
Then sayde ye LORDE to me: Go yet yi waye & wowe an aduouterous woma, who thy neghboure loueth, as ye LORDE doth the childre of Israel: how be it they haue respecte to straunge goddes, and loue the wyne kannes.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Go yet: Hosea 1:2, Hosea 1:3
friend: Jeremiah 3:1, Jeremiah 3:20, *marg. Matthew 26:50
according: Hosea 11:8, Deuteronomy 7:6, Deuteronomy 7:7, Judges 10:16, 2 Kings 13:23, Nehemiah 9:18, Nehemiah 9:19, Nehemiah 9:31, Psalms 106:43-46, Jeremiah 3:1-4, Jeremiah 3:12-14, Jeremiah 31:20, Micah 7:18-20, Zechariah 1:16, Luke 1:54, Luke 1:55
look: Psalms 123:2, Isaiah 17:7, Isaiah 17:8, Isaiah 45:22, Micah 7:7
love flagons: Hosea 4:11, Hosea 7:5, Hosea 9:1, Hosea 9:2, Exodus 32:6, Judges 9:27, Amos 2:8, Amos 6:6, 1 Corinthians 10:7, 1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Peter 4:3
wine: Heb. grapes
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 18:20 - loved David Song of Solomon 2:5 - flagons Song of Solomon 5:16 - friend Isaiah 54:4 - thou shalt forget Jeremiah 11:15 - my Jeremiah 31:32 - although I was Ezekiel 4:1 - take Ezekiel 16:32 - General Ezekiel 23:37 - they have Ezekiel 24:24 - Ezekiel Hosea 2:5 - their mother Hosea 7:14 - assemble Hosea 10:11 - and loveth Hosea 12:10 - used James 4:4 - adulterers
Cross-References
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
At that time God will unsheathe his sword, his merciless, massive, mighty sword. He'll punish the serpent Leviathan as it flees, the serpent Leviathan thrashing in flight. He'll kill that old dragon that lives in the sea.
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.
Pseudo-Servants of God Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.) I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life.
The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Then said the Lord unto me,.... Or, as the Targum,
"the Lord said unto me again'';
for the word yet or again is to be joined to this, and not the following clause; and shows that this is a new vision, prophecy, or parable, though respecting the same persons and things:
go, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress; not the prophet's wife, not Gomer, but some other feigned person; beloved either of her own husband, as the Targum and Jarchi, notwithstanding her unchastity and unfaithfulness to him; or of another man, as Aben Ezra, who had a very great respect for her, courted her, and perhaps had betrothed her, but had not yet consummated the marriage; and, though a harlot, loved her dearly, and could not get off his affections from her, but hankered after her; or of the prophet, as Kimchi, who paraphrases it,
"thou shall love her, and be to her a friend;''
to protect and defend her, as harlots used to have one in particular they called their friend, by whose name they were called, and was a cover to them. The sense is, that the prophet was to go to the people of Israel, and deliver this parable to them, setting forth their state and condition, and their behaviour towards God, and his great love to them, notwithstanding all their baseness and ingratitude; it was as if a woman that was either married or betrothed, or that either had a husband or a suitor that so dearly loved her, that though she was guilty of uncleanness, and continued in it, yet would not leave her; and which is thus expressed by the Targum,
"go, deliver a prophecy against the house of Israel, who are like a woman dear to her husband; and though she commits fornication against him, yet he so loves her that he will not put her away:''
according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel; or such is the love of the Lord to them; for though they were guilty of idolatry, intemperance, and other immoralities, yet still he loved them, and formed designs of grace and goodness for them. And thus, though God does not love sinners as such; yet he loves them, though they are sinners, and when and while they are such; as appears by his choice of them, and covenant with them, by Christ's dying for them while sinners, and by his quickening them when dead in trespasses and sins:
who look to other gods; or "though they look to other gods" c; look to them and worship them, pray unto them, put their trust in them, and expect good things from them:
and love flagons of wine, or "tubs of grapes" d; or of wine made of them; or lumps of raisins, cakes or junkets made of them and other things, as the Septuagint; and may respect either the drunkenness and intemperance of the ten tribes; see Isaiah 28:1, they loved, as Kimchi says, the delights of the world, and not the law and commandments of God; or the feasts that were made in the temples of their idols they loved good eating and drinking, and that made them like idolatry the better for the sake of those things; see Exodus 32:6, for the Heathens used to eat and drink to excess at their sacrifices: hence Diogenes e the philosopher was very angry with those who sacrificed to the gods for their health, yet in their sacrifices feasted to the prejudice of their health.
c ××× ×¤× ×× "quamvis respiciant", Piscator. d ×ש××©× ×¢× ××× "dolia uvarum", Pagninus, Montanus, Zanchius; "soa", some in Drusius. e Laertius in Vit. Diogenis, p. 382.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Go yet, love a woman, beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress - This woman is the same Gomer, whom the prophet had before been bidden to take, and whom, (it appears from this verse) had forsaken him, and was living in adultery with another man. The âfriendâ is the husband himself, the prophet. The word âfriendâ expresses, that the husband of Gomer treated her, not harshly, but mildly and tenderly so that her faithlessness was the more aggravated sin. âFriend or neighborâ too is the word chosen by our Lord to express His own love, the love of the good Samaritan, who, not being akin, became âneighbor to Him who fell among thieves,â and had mercy upon him. Gomer is called âa woman,â in order to describe the state of separation, in which she was living. Yet God bids the prophet to âlove her,â i. e., show active love to her, not, as before, to âtakeâ her, for she was already and still his with, although unfaithful. He is now bidden to buy her back, with the price and allowance of food, as of a worthless slave, and so to keep her apart, on coarse food, abstaining from her former sins, but without the privileges of marriage, yet with the hope of being, in the end, restored to be altogether his wife. This prophecy is a sequel to the former, and so relates to Israel, after the coming of Christ, in which the former prophecy ends.
According to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel - The prophet is directed to frame his life, so as to depict at once the ingratitude of Israel or the sinful soul, and the abiding, persevering, love of God. The woman, whom God commands him to love, he had loved before her fall; he was now to love her after her fall, and amid her fall, in order to rescue her from abiding in it. His love was to outlive herâs, that he might win her at last to him. Such, God says, âis the love of the Lord for Israel.â He loved her, before she fell, for the woman was âbeloved of her friend, and yet an adulteress.â He loved her after she fell, and while persevering in her adultery. For God explains His command to the prophet still to love her, by the words, âaccording to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, while they look to other gods, literally, and they are looking.â The words express a contemporary circumstance. God was loving them and looking upon them; and they, all the while, were looking to other gods.
Love flagons of wine - Literally, âof grapes,â or perhaps, more probably, âcakes of grapes,â i. e., dried raisins. Cakes were used in idolatry Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:19. The âwineâ would betoken the excess common in idolatry, and the bereavement of understanding: the cakes denote the sweetness and lusciousness, yet still the dryness, of any gratification out of God, which is preferred to Him. Israel despised and rejected the true Vine, Jesus Christ, the source of all the works of grace and righteousness, and âloved the dried cakes,â the observances of the law, which, apart from Him, were dry and worthless.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER III
By the prophet's taking back his wife, for whom he (her friend
or husband) still retained has affection, though she had proved
unfaithful; by his entering into a new contract with her; and
by his giving her hopes of reconciliation, after she should for
some time prove, as in a state of widowhood, the sincerity of
her repentance; is represented the gracious manner in which God
will restore the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, 1-4.
It is also very strongly intimated that the whole house of
Israel will be added to the Church of Christ in the latter
days, 5.
NOTES ON CHAP. III
Verse Hosea 3:1. Go yet, love a woman — This is a different command from that mentioned in the first chapter. That denoted the infidelity of the kingdom of Israel, and God's divorce of them. He gave them up to their enemies, and caused them to be carried into captivity. The woman mentioned here represents one who was a lawful wife joining herself to a paramour; then divorced by her husband; afterwards repenting, and desirous to be joined to her spouse; ceasing from her adulterous commerce, but not yet reconciled to him. This was the state and disposition of the Jews under the Babylonish captivity. Though separated from their own idols, they continued separated from their God. He is still represented as having affectionate feelings towards them; awaiting their full repentance and contrition, in order to renew the marriage covenant. These things are pointed out by the symbolical actions of the prophet.
Beloved of her friend — Or, a lover of evil; or, loving another: for the Hebrew words ×××ת רע mean one who loves evil or a friend: because רע signifies a friend, or evil, according as it is pointed. The former seems to be its best sense here; רע rea is a friend; רע ra is evil.
According to the love of the Lord — This woman, who had proved false to her husband, was still beloved by him, though he could not acknowledge her; as the Israelites were beloved by the Lord, while they were looking after other gods. The flagons of wine were probably such as were used for libations, or drunk in idol feasts. Others think that the words should be translated cakes of dried grapes, sweet cakes, consecrated wafers.
