King James Version

What Does Hosea 2:3 Mean?

“Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.”

Context

Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. Ammi: that is, My people Ruhamah: that is, Having obtained mercy

Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink. drink: Heb. drinks

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Commentary

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **Set her** . . .—Reduce Israel to the destitute exposed condition in which she struggled into being in Egyptian bondage, and endured the wanderings and terrors of the wilderness. Probably we have here an allusion to the custom of female infanticide, which still prevails very widely in the East, as it did in the ancient world, the child being simply abandoned to death on the day that she was born. (Comp. Ezekiel 16:4.)

Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). Public Domain.

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Hosea. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Hosea 2:3 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.