5:3 I know Ephraim all too well; 1
the evil of 2 Israel is not hidden from me.
For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim;
Israel has defiled itself. 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 phrase “all too well” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and stylistic reasons.
2 tn The phrase “the evil of” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) use of the term “Israel.” It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “what they have done is not hidden from me.”
3 tn Or “Israel has become corrupt”; NCV “has made itself unclean”; TEV “are unfit to worship me.”
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.”