Hosea 3:3

“And I said unto her, etc.] Having bought or hired her; this was the covenant or agreement he made with her, thou shall abide for me many days; dwell alone in some solitary and separate place, and have no conversation with any, especially with men; live like a widow that has lost her husband, and so wait for a long time till the prophet should think fit to take her to his house and bed: thou shall not play the harlot, and thou shall not be for another man; neither prostitute herself, as she had done to her lovers; nor marry another, but keep herself chaste and single: so will I also be for thee; wait for thee, and not take another wife; or will be thy husband, after having made proper trial…”

“abide for me--separate from intercourse with any other man, and remaining for me who have redeemed thee (compare Deu 21:13). so will I also be for thee--remain for thee, not taking any other consort. As Israel should long remain without serving other gods, yet separate from Jehovah; so Jehovah on His part, in this long period of estrangement, would form no marriage covenant with any other people (compare Hos 3:4). He would not immediately receive her to marriage privileges, but would test her repentance and discipline her by the long probation; still the marriage covenant would hold good, she was to be kept separated for but a time, not divorced (Isa 50:1); in God's good time she shall be…”

“Thou shalt abide for me many days - Literally, “thou shalt sit,” solitary and as a widow Deuteronomy 21:13, quiet and sequestered; not going after others, as heretofore, but waiting for him; Exodus 24:14; Jeremiah 3:2); and “that,” for an undefined, but long season, until he should come and take her to himself. And thou shalt not be for another man - Literally, “and thou shalt not be to a man,” i. e., not even to thine own man or husband. She was to remain without following sin, yet without restoration to conjugal rights. Her husband would be her guardian; but as yet, no more. So will “I also be for thee or toward thee.” He does not say “to thee,” so as to belong to her, but “toward thee;”…”

“Abide for me - Thou shalt wait unmarried, until I espouse thee. Hosea 3:4”

“3:3-4 Just as Hosea’s wife was required to live many days without sexual relations, Israel would be deprived of the institutions (king or prince), practices (sacrifices), and objects (sacred pillars . . . or even idols) that had been foundational to its life and worship.”

“Thou shalt abide: Deu 21:13 Hosea 3:4”

“"And I said to her, Many days wilt thou sit for me: and not act the harlot, and not belong to a man; and thus will I also towards thee." Instead of granting the full conjugal fellowship of a wife to the woman whom he had acquired for himself, the prophet puts her into a state of detention, in which she was debarred from intercourse with any man. Sitting is equivalent to remaining quiet, and לי indicates that this is for the husband's sake, and that he imposes it upon her out of affection to her, to reform her and grain her up as a faithful wife. היה לאישׁ, to be or become a man's, signifies conjugal or sexual connection with him. Commentators differ in opinion as to whether the prophet…”