This verse begins a series of negative statements about Israel, and no one is doing anything about it—in fact, it may be too late.

Good News Translation identifies the speaker explicitly with the quote frame “The LORD says.” However, as is the case with many of the prophets, it is often difficult to distinguish between whether the prophet is speaking or Yahweh is speaking, since the prophets were actually doing the speaking on behalf of Yahweh. Since there is no clear indication here whether Yahweh or the prophet is the speaker, it is also a viable option to leave the speaker unidentified (Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New International Version).

Good News Translation identifies Ephraim as “The people of Israel,” which is synonymous and clearer for most English readers. Ephraim was the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the original hearers would have thought of it as referring to all Israel (see comments on 4.17). Translators may wish to follow Good News Translation‘s model if the readers will not understand the intended meaning. This decision also depends on the type of translation one is working on.

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples: Although the topic switches from assassination plots to Israel wrongfully being involved with other nations, the figure of baking bread in an oven is carried forward into this verse, but the interpretations among scholars differ. One approach observes that the Hebrew verb for mixes is used elsewhere in the Old Testament for mixing ingredients such as flour and oil. Once the mixing is done, it is too late to separate the ingredients. In this context the mixing involves culture, morals, religion, and politics, so that Ephraim was no longer a distinct nation dedicated to Yahweh. Bible en français courant follows this interpretation: “Ephraim is contaminated by the other peoples.”

Another approach believes this line refers to foreign treaties; for example, Good News Translation says “They rely on the nations around them,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “Ephraim turns to foreign peoples for help.” That interpretation certainly includes one important aspect of Israel’s problem. The context (especially 7.11 about switching alliances between Egypt and Assyria) seems to justify this choice. Moreover, the unusual Hebrew verbal form for mixes may suggest that Ephraim is in a state of confusion regarding its reliance on foreign powers. Both interpretations are valid.

Ephraim is a cake not turned: The Hebrew word for cake does not refer to a sweet dessert-like cake, but to a lump of dough that is baked as a flat loaf of bread. It is placed on the hot inner surface of a clay oven, and it needs to be turned when halfway through the baking process. If no one comes in time to turn it over, it will be burned on one side and raw dough on the other—a useless thing. It may be helpful to make this clear in the translation (see the model below). The meaning of this metaphor is that something is going wrong with Ephraim, and none of the allies is doing anything to help. Good News Translation‘s “like a half-baked loaf of bread” gives the wrong connotation in English, since “half-baked” refers to something immature, incomplete, such as an idea that is not carefully developed. That is not the meaning of this figure. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes the picture very clear: “Thus it happens to him as to a flat cake, which no one turns over and therefore is burned.”

In order to make a better transition to the next verse, Good News Translation reverses the order of the two lines of this verse. However, that reversal is closely related to Good News Translation‘s understanding of the verse, which is not necessarily the best interpretation. Translators should feel free to present these lines in a way that will make the clearest impression for the readers in their language. A translation model for this verse is:

• Ephraim confuses itself in its alliances with nations,
it is ruined like a half-baked bread,
burned on one side and raw on the other.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .