God moves from the past in the previous verse to the present here, as if all were one. He clearly implies that the present Israelites are no better than their ancestors. There is a clear shift from past tense in the previous verse to future tense in this one.

Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird: Again, Good News Translation substitutes “Israel” for Ephraim (see comments on 4.17). Some may wish to interpret the Hebrew word for glory as a reference to the shining light of Yahweh’s presence, as in the pillar of fire in the wilderness. If so, this line means Yahweh will abandon Israel (compare the last line of 9.12). However, the next line suggests that glory can also be taken as a reference to Ephraim’s honor (see comments on 4.7), which is personified in their children. The figure of Israel’s glory disappearing like a bird flying away is a vivid and meaningful simile, for a flying bird leaves no trace in the sky. Glory forms a sharp contrast with the shame that is mentioned in the previous verse.

An important element in the Israelites’ glory was their children, and Yahweh warns that they will cease to have children. Such a punishment was particularly appropriate because they had been worshiping pagan gods who were supposed to give fertility. This punishment of childlessness is spelled out in three steps: no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. This is clearly a climactic sequence, which should be maintained in translation if possible. This line is literally “from bearing children, from womb, from conception,” in which the Hebrew preposition for “from” means “being deprived of.” Revised Standard Version renders this poetic line well.

A translation model for this verse is:

• Ephraim, your glory will fly away like a bird.
There will be no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.

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 .