Hosea 3:5
“Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →After the long waiting comes return: the people seek the LORD their God and David their king, drawn in reverence to his goodness in the latter days.
What Does Hosea 3:5 Mean?
The chapter ends not in loss but in homecoming. After the many empty days, the children of Israel turn back, seeking the LORD their God and David their king. The promise reaches toward the latter days, when this seeking will come to its fullness and a son of David will gather a returning people.
What draws them home is not only fear of judgment but the goodness of God himself. They come trembling, yet trembling at his kindness, amazed that mercy should still be open to them. This is the hope held out from the first command of the chapter: the wandering are loved back, and the long discipline ends at the feet of the Shepherd-King, who is Christ, the promised heir of David.
In the Original Language
acharith (אַחֲרִית), 'latter days' -- the appointed time toward which God's promises move and find their goal.