What Does Hosea 3:3 Mean in the King James?

And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

Hosea 3:3 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The verse binds many days of waiting to mutual fidelity: she remains for him, and he remains for her.

THE MEANING

Here, a bond remains named across many days: she is for him, and he is for her. Fidelity is held as a sustained relation, with a clear boundary against belonging to another man.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

A long interval does not by itself mean the bond is gone; this verse names mutual belonging through many days of restraint.

THE ROOT

תֵּשְׁבִי

teshvi

GROWS FROM

י־ש־ב

y-sh-b

To sit, remain, or dwell.

The word rendered “abide” is teshvi (⁨תֵּשְׁבִי⁩), from yashav (⁨יָשַׁב⁩), meaning to sit, remain, or dwell. Its root links staying with taking up a place: the bond is held through an extended duration, not reduced to a passing visit.

ALSO GROWS

yashav: To sit, dwell, or remain.

יָשַׁב

The same verb family makes “abide” carry the sense of sustained presence.

moshav: A seat or dwelling place.

מוֹשָׁב

This branch gives the idea of remaining a settled place, illuminating the duration in “many days.”

תִזְנִי

tizni

GROWS FROM

ז־נ־ה

z-n-h

To act as a prostitute or be sexually unfaithful.

The phrase “play the harlot” comes from zanah (⁨זָנָה⁩), meaning to act as a prostitute or be sexually unfaithful. Alongside “thou shalt not be for another man,” it makes the boundary in the verse concrete and relational.

ALSO GROWS

zonah: A prostitute or sexually unfaithful woman.

זוֹנָה

This related form makes explicit the sexual meaning carried by the verb in the verse.

zenunim: Prostitution or acts of sexual unfaithfulness.

זְנוּנִים

This noun shows the same root naming a pattern of unfaithfulness, sharpening the force of the stated boundary.

THE PATTERN

Scripture depicts belonging as sustained presence whose commitments answer one another.

I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

Song of Solomon 6:3 · KJVThe verse states belonging in both directions, as Hosea does with “I also be for thee.”

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Psalm 27:4 · KJVThe desire to dwell “all the days” echoes Hosea’s image of a bond held through many days.

Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

1 Corinthians 7:3 · KJVThe verse expresses intimate commitment as reciprocal, with each person’s relation answering the other’s.

THE THREAD

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Psalm 27:4 · KJV

“Dwell” in the Psalm and “abide” in Hosea come from yashav (⁨יָשַׁב⁩), meaning to sit, remain, or dwell. The shared root lets “many days” open into an image of presence that continues across the whole span of life.

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