Hosea 3:1

God again commands Hosea to love an adulterous woman, mirroring His own love for unfaithful Israel. The prophet's costly love dramatizes God's persistent grace.

Cross-references · 31

• Jer 3:12–14Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
• Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
• Hos 1:2–3The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
• Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
• Isa 45:22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
• Hos 11:8How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.
• Deut 7:6–7For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
• Ps 106:43–46Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
• Mic 7:7Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
• Luke 1:54–55He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
• 1 Pet 4:3For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
• Zech 1:16Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
• Jer 3:1–4They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
• 1 Cor 10:21Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
• Jer 3:20Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
• Ps 123:2Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
• Judg 10:16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
• Amos 6:6That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
• Judg 9:27And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
• Neh 9:18–19Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
• Exod 32:6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
• Amos 2:8And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
• 2 Sam 6:19And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
• 2 Kgs 13:23And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
• Neh 9:31Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
• Isa 17:7–8At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
• Matt 26:50And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
• 1 Cor 10:7Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
• Hos 9:1–2Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.
• Hos 4:11Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
• Hos 7:5In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.