Therefore they shall be like …: The conjunction Therefore introduces how the people of Israel will be punished for their sins mentioned in the verse. Because of their sins they will be like four things that last only a little while and then disappear without leaving a trace. The four similes (explicit comparisons) occur in two pairs: (1) mist and dew, and (2) chaff and smoke.

Some may argue that it is the idols that will disappear, but it is more consistent with the message of Hosea that the people are the ones who will not last, and more specifically in this context, the people mentioned in the previous verse. Good News Translation makes this explicit by translating the pronoun they as “these people.” Bijbel in Gewone Taal has “the entire tribe of Ephraim.” In any case, this verse should not be translated as if it is a general statement about judgment on all human beings.

Like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away: These two similes also occur in 6.4 (see comments there). Like the morning mist is literally “like a morning cloud,” which compares the people with early morning fog that rests on the ground in the early morning but disappears when the sun shines upon it.

Like the dew that goes early away compares them with the drops of water that have condensed onto the ground and the plants early in the morning, but disappears, when the sun shines and dries it up. Good News Translation‘s “like the dew that vanishes early in the day” gives the correct meaning for anyone who may misunderstand early to mean “soon” rather than the beginning of the day.

Like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor: Chaff is the outer covering over the seed reaped from grain crops such as wheat and rice. During harvest, when the grain was threshed, the wind would blow the chaff to the side of the threshing area, or else the workers would wave large fans to blow the chaff to one side. It would then be thrown out, or else burned or used to make fire for cooking.

The threshing floor was the flat area of ground where the farmers threshed their grain (see comments on 9.1). They would have animals such as oxen or horses walk over the grain, to break the outer chaff from off the inner seeds. The chaff was much lighter and could then easily be blown away from the seed itself. Farmers would usually have their threshing floor on a high hill, where the wind would be stronger and would help to blow away the chaff.

The chaff that swirls from the threshing floor pictures a stormy wind blowing the chaff away. It lifts the chaff from off the seeds and then dumps the chaff elsewhere. The verb swirls may give the wrong idea that this is a wind that spins in a circle. Translators may say “like chaff that a strong wind blows from the threshing place” (similarly Good News Translation).

Like smoke from a window is the final picture of the way the people will disappear. When a small fire of wood or coals was placed in a pan and was used for cooking, it would need a window nearby for the smoke to go out of the house. And of course, the smoke would soon disappear. Glass in windows was not used in those days. Windows only served for allowing light and air to go in and out. It is also possible to view this window as a small opening designed for the specific purpose of letting out smoke, so some versions say “chimney” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation), “opening in the roof” (Bible en français courant), or “draft hole” (De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling).

A translation model for this verse is:

• So the people of Ephraim will be like morning mist,
like dew that disappears early in the morning,
like chaff blown away from the threshing floor,
like smoke through an open window.

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 .