2:10 Soon 1 I will expose her lewd nakedness 2 in front of her lovers,
and no one will be able to rescue her from me! 3
7:8 Ephraim has mixed itself like flour 4 among the nations;
Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. 5
1 tn The particle עַתָּה (’attah) often refers to the imminent or the impending future: “very soon” (BDB 774 s.v. עַתָּה 1.b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).
2 tn Heb “her lewdness” (so KJV, NIV); NAB, NRSV “her shame.”
3 tn Heb “out of my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “save her from my power.”
4 tn The words “like flour” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied by the imagery.
5 tn Heb “a cake of bread not turned.” This metaphor compares Ephraim to a ruined cake of bread that was not turned over in time to avoid being scorched and burned (see BDB 728 s.v. עֻגָה). Cf. NLT “as worthless as a half-baked cake.”