Hosea 3
New Catholic Bible
The Triumph of Love[a]
Chapter 3
1 The Lord said to me:
“Go forth and offer your love to a woman
who has a lover and is an adulteress,
just as I, the Lord, love the people of Israel
even though they turn to other gods
and love raisin cakes.”[b]
2 Therefore, I purchased her for fifteen shekels of silver, a homer of barley, and a measure of wine, 3 and I said to her:
“You must remain in my house for a long time,
and you shall not continue to play the harlot.
You shall not have relations with anyone else,
nor even with me.”
4 For the Israelites shall spend a long time
without a king or leader,
without sacrifice or sacred pillar,
without ephod or household idols.
5 Afterward the Israelites shall return
and seek the Lord, their God,
and David, their king.[c]
They will come trembling to the Lord
to beg for his bounty in the final days.
Footnotes
- Hosea 3:1 Before belonging to Hosea, Gomer had to be redeemed and submit to the conditions which, according to ancient views, would free her from her sacral tie to a pagan cult and allow her to return to an orderly life. There was, so to speak, a period of quarantine, and this became a symbol of the Exile, which Israel must accept in order to withdraw from its promiscuous behavior with false gods. At that time the people will be deprived of every political and religious institution. The sacred stone and the ephod were elements of a worship more or less connected with pagan rites.
- Hosea 3:1 The raisin cakes were offered at pagan ritual feasts.
- Hosea 3:5 David, their king: i.e., the Messianic King of the line of David who will restore the Kingdom of the People of God (see Isa 4:2; 9:5f; 11:1-5; Jer 23:5; 33:14ff; Ezek 34:23f). The final days: i.e., the Messianic Age.
