Hosea 10:11
New International Version
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground.

New Living Translation
“Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground.

English Standard Version
Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.

Berean Standard Bible
Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground.

King James Bible
And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.

New King James Version
Ephraim is a trained heifer That loves to thresh grain; But I harnessed her fair neck, I will make Ephraim pull a plow. Judah shall plow; Jacob shall break his clods.”

New American Standard Bible
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, And I passed over her lovely neck; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

NASB 1995
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

NASB 1977
And Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will harrow for himself.

Amplified Bible
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to tread out the grain, But I will come over her fair neck with a heavy yoke [for hard field work]. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow and Jacob will harrow and rake for himself.

Christian Standard Bible
Ephraim is a well-trained calf that loves to thresh, but I will place a yoke on her fine neck. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will do the final plowing.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ephraim is a well-trained calf that loves to thresh, but I will place a yoke on her fine neck. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will do the final plowing.

American Standard Version
And Ephraim is a heifer that is taught, that loveth to tread out the grain; but I have passed over upon her fair neck: I will set a rider on Ephraim; Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Aphreim is a trained heifer that loves to tread and I passed over his neck; I will mount Aphreim and he will tread Yehuda and shall plunder Yaqob

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Ephraim is a heifer taught to love victory, but I will come upon the fairest part of her neck: I will mount Ephraim; I will pass over Juda in silence; Jacob shall prevail against him.

Contemporary English Version
Once you were obedient like a calf that loved to thresh grain. But I will put a harness on your beautiful neck; you and Judah must plow and cultivate the ground.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Ephraim is a heifer taught to love to tread out corn, but I passed over upon the beauty of her neck: I will ride upon Ephraim, Juda shall plough, Jacob shall break the furrows for himself.

English Revised Version
And Ephraim is an heifer that is taught, that loveth to tread out the corn; but I have passed over upon her fair neck: I will set a rider on Ephraim; Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Ephraim is like a trained calf that loves to thresh grain. I will put a yoke on its beautiful neck. I will harness Ephraim. Judah must plow. Jacob must break up the ground.

Good News Translation
"Israel was once like a well-trained young cow, ready and willing to thresh grain. But I decided to put a yoke on her beautiful neck and to harness her for harder work. I made Judah pull the plow and Israel pull the harrow.

International Standard Version
"Ephraim, the well-trained heifer, loves to thresh grain, so I will spare her neck. I will turn Ephraim into a pack animal. Judah will pull the plow, and Jacob will turn up the fallow ground.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Ephraim is a heifer well broken, That loveth to thresh, And I have passed over upon her fair neck; I will make Ephraim to ride, Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods.

Literal Standard Version
And Ephraim [is] a trained heifer—loving to thresh, | And I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, | I cause [one] to ride Ephraim, | Judah plows, Jacob harrows for him.

Majority Standard Bible
Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground.

New American Bible
Ephraim was a trained heifer, that loved to thresh; I myself laid a yoke upon her beautiful neck; I will make Ephraim break ground, Judah must plow, Jacob must harrow for himself:

NET Bible
Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain; I myself put a fine yokeon her neck. I will harness Ephraim. Let Judah plow! Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground for himself!

New Revised Standard Version
Ephraim was a trained heifer that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will make Ephraim break the ground; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.

New Heart English Bible
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. I will set a rider on Ephraim. Judah will plow. Jacob will break his clods.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.

World English Bible
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, so I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. I will set a rider on Ephraim. Judah will plow. Jacob will break his clods.

Young's Literal Translation
And Ephraim is a trained heifer -- loving to thresh, And I -- I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, I cause one to ride Ephraim, Plough doth Judah, harrow for him doth Jacob.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Retribution for Israel's Sin
10I will chasten them when I please; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double transgression. 11Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground. 12Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 28:14
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have even given him control of the beasts of the field.'"

Jeremiah 46:20
Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.

Jeremiah 50:11
"Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph--you who plunder My inheritance--because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,

Hosea 4:16
For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?

Micah 4:13
Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.


Treasury of Scripture

And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loves to tread out the corn; but I passed over on her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.

an heifer.

Hosea 4:16
For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

Jeremiah 50:11
Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;

and loveth.

Hosea 2:5
For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

Hosea 3:1
Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

Hosea 9:1
Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

but.

Hosea 11:4
I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

her fair neck.

2 Chronicles 28:5-8
Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter…

Isaiah 28:24
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

Jump to Previous
Beautiful Break Broken Clods Corn Cow Crushing Drive Earth Ephraim Fair Ground Harness Harrow Heifer Horseman Jacob Judah Loves Neck Passed Pleasure Plough Plow Ride Rider Taught Thresh Trained Tread Turning Working Yoke
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Beautiful Break Broken Clods Corn Cow Crushing Drive Earth Ephraim Fair Ground Harness Harrow Heifer Horseman Jacob Judah Loves Neck Passed Pleasure Plough Plow Ride Rider Taught Thresh Trained Tread Turning Working Yoke
Hosea 10
1. Israel is reproved and threatened for their impiety and idolatry,
12. and exhorted to repentance.














(11) Heifer.--Translate, Ephraim is a trained heifer, which loves to thresh. Here the idea may be that Ephraim loves the easy and free work of treading out the corn, and so becomes fat and sleek; or the act of treading and threshing may point to the rough treatment which Ephraim has in her pride dealt out to her neighbours and enemies. But the former interpretation is more probable. The verse should continue to read thus:--And I passed by the fairness of her neck (to arrest her self-indulgence). I will harness Ephraim for riding--i.e., I will cause a rider, Assyria, to take possession of her, and she shall be bound in unwelcome toil to do the bidding of another.

Verse 11. - And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn. Ephraim is compared to a heifer trained. The work she was taught to do was treading cut the corn; by training and habit it had became a second nature, so that she took delight in it. The connecting vowel occurs seldom, and usually with an antique coloring in prose, according to Ewald; it is poetical besides, and used in the concourse of words somewhat closely connected, but not in the strict construct state. Thus is לֺאהַבֵתִּי accounted for. This work was probably easier, at all events pleasanter, than plowing or harrowing. In treading out corn oxen were not yoked together, but worked singly, treading it with their feet, or drawing a threshing-sledge, or iron-armed cylinder, over it; they were unmuzzled also, so that they were free to snatch an occasional mouthful of the grain, and frequently fattened by such indulgence. Such had been the position of Ephraim in easy employment, comfortable circumstances like the heifer threshing and allowed to eat at pleasure, pleasantly situated prosperous, self-indulgent, and luxurious. The victories of Ephraim - threshing and treading down may perhaps be also hinted at. But I passed over upon her fair neck (margin, the beauty of her neck): I will make Ephraim to ride; Judak shall plough, and Jacob shall break his clods. Times have changed, as is here indicated a yoke, that of Assyria, is placed on the fair neck, a rider is set on the sleek back. Mere onerous and less pleasant labor is now imposed. Judah too is to share the toil, being put to the heavier work of plowing while Jacob - the ten tribes, or the twelve including both Judah and Israel - shall cross plough; and thus both alike shall be henceforth employed in the heaviest labors of the field and the severest toils of agriculture. Once victorious, Ephraim is now to be subdued; once free and intractable, it must now receive the yoke and engage in laborious service. The expression עבר, followed by על, is generally used in a bad sense; "to pass over," says Jerome, "especially when it is said of God, always signifies inflictions and troubles." The fatness of the neck is the ox's ornament or beauty. That is now to be assaulted or invaded gently it may be, and softly, as men are wont to approach a young untamed animal in order to put the yoke upon it. This passing over, however tender, fixes the yoke on Ephraim's neck all the same. A more difficult word is אדכיב, which Ewald

(1) renders, "I will set a rider" on Ephraim, of course to subdue and tame;

(2) Jerome has, "I will mount or ride," thus representing Jehovah himself as the mediate rider on Ephraim. The first sense has a parallel in Psalm 56:12, "Thou hast made men to ride over our head," and thus ruling them at pleasure. Unwilling to bear the easy yoke of their Divine Ruler, they shall be subjected to the tyrant mastery of man. But

(3) Keil says the word here is "not" to mount or ride, 'but' to drive or use for drawing and driving,' i.e. to harness," as to the plough and harrow. This meaning is best reached by understanding the words thus: "I will make the yoke to ride on Ephraim's neck;" as הרכב is used in 2 Kings 13:16, for "put thine hand upon the bow," margin, "make thine hand to ride upon the bow." The remaining clauses of the verse is a further development of this expression, but extending to Judah; and thus including both Judah and Ephraim, or Jacob - both kingdoms. The Septuagint version of the last clause is peculiar; it is Παρασιωπήσομαι Ἰούδαν ἐνισχύσει αὐτῷ Ἰακώβ. That is, as explained by Jerome, "I shall leave Judah for the present and say nothing about him; but whoever, whether of Ephraim or Judah, shall observe my precepts, he shall acquire strength for himself and be called Jacob."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Ephraim
וְאֶפְרַ֜יִם (wə·’ep̄·ra·yim)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

is a well-trained
מְלֻמָּדָה֙ (mə·lum·mā·ḏāh)
Verb - Pual - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 3925: To exercise in, learn

heifer
עֶגְלָ֤ה (‘eḡ·lāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5697: A, calf, one nearly grown

that loves
אֹהַ֣בְתִּי (’ō·haḇ·tî)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular construct
Strong's 157: To have affection f

to thresh;
לָד֔וּשׁ (lā·ḏūš)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1758: To trample, thresh

but I
וַאֲנִ֣י (wa·’ă·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

will place a yoke
עָבַ֔רְתִּי (‘ā·ḇar·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

her fair
ט֖וּב (ṭūḇ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2898: Good, goodness, beauty, gladness, welfare

neck.
צַוָּארָ֑הּ (ṣaw·wā·rāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6676: The back of the neck

I will harness
אַרְכִּ֤יב (’ar·kîḇ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7392: To ride, to place upon, to despatch

Ephraim,
אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ (’ep̄·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

Judah
יְהוּדָ֔ה (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

will plow,
יַחֲר֣וֹשׁ (ya·ḥă·rō·wōš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2790: To cut in, engrave, plow, devise

[and] Jacob
יַעֲקֹֽב׃ (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

will break the hard ground.
יְשַׂדֶּד־ (yə·śad·deḏ-)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7702: To abrade, harrow a, field


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OT Prophets: Hosea 10:11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves (Ho Hs Hos.)
Hosea 10:10
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