Skip to Content
 

Hosea 3:5

Listen to this page
Open the MP3 directly

The context

Chapter 3 is a sign-act: the prophet is told to love an adulteress again, and he buys her back for a price. The act is then interpreted for Israel, first as a period without king or sacrifice, then as a return. This verse is the last line of that interpretation and closes the chapter.

What it establishes

The passage holds out a restoration in which the people seek the Lord and a Davidic ruler, and it places that hope after a period of deprivation. The seeking is directed to God and to a king, in that order.

What it does not establish

David their king is disputed. It may mean a future ruler in David's line, a messianic figure, or the restored Davidic house; the phrase does not by itself identify the person, and the passage gives no timetable.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.