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The Holy Bible - God's Word for All Generations

Hosea Chapter 3

King James Version (KJV)

Other Translations

asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM

1 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
2 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah.
3 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will answer, saith Jehovah, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth;
4 and the earth shall answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Jezreel.
5 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them that were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say,

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 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 othergods, and love raisin-cakes.
2 So I bought her to me for fifteen silver [pieces], and for a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley.
3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be [another] man's, and I will also be for thee.
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without statue, and without ephod and teraphim.
5 Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah theirGod, and David their king; and shall turn with fear toward Jehovah and toward his goodness, at the end of the days.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And the Lord said to me, Go yet, and love a woman that loves evil things, and an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, and they have respect to strange gods, and love cakes of dried grapes.
2 So I hired [her] to myself for fifteen [pieces] of silver, and a homer of barley, and a flagon of wine.
3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt wait for me many days; and thou shalt not commit fornication, neither shalt thou be for [another] man; and I [will be] for thee.
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without a priesthood, and without manifestations.
5 And afterward shall the children of Israel return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall be amazed at the Lord and at his goodness in the latter days.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Et dixit Dominus ad me: Adhuc vade, et dilige mulierem dilectam amico et adulteram: sicut diligit Dominus filios Israel, et ipsi respiciunt ad deos alienos, et diligunt vinacia uvarum.
2 Et fodi eam mihi quindecim argenteis, et coro hordei, et dimidio coro hordei.
3 Et dixi ad eam: Dies multos expectabis me: non fornicaberis, et non eris viro: sed et ego expectabo te.
4 quia dies multos sedebunt filii Israel sine rege, et sine principe, et sine sacrificio, et sine altari, et sine ephod, et sine theraphim.
5 et post hæc revertentur filii Israel, et quærent Dominum Deum suum, et David regem suum: et pavebunt ad Dominum, et ad bonum eius in novissimo dierum.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 The LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley.
3 I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days. You shall not play the prostitute, and you shall not be with any other man. I will also be so toward you.”
4 For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without sacred stone, and without ephod or idols.
5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 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.'
2 And I buy her to me for fifteen silverlings, and a homer and a letech of barley;
3 and I say unto her, `Many days thou dost remain for Me, thou dost not go a-whoring, nor become any one's; and I also <FI>am<Fi> for thee.'
4 For many days remain do the sons of Israel without a king, and there is no prince, and there is no sacrifice, and there is no standing pillar, and there is no ephod and teraphim.
5 Afterwards turned back have the sons of Israel, and sought Jehovah their God, and David their king, and have hastened unto Jehovah, and unto His goodness, in the latter end of the days.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).