Verses 17-19 present a pessimistic picture of Israel. It seems that the people have become so corrupt that there is no hope for them. Are they under a magic spell? Has their adulterous love so blinded them that they can no longer recognize their error? It seems that Yahweh must abandon them to their foolishness. Some translators may wish to begin a new stanza or paragraph at this point (so Revised Standard Version).

Ephraim is joined to idols: Ephraim was Israel’s leading tribe, and its name is often used to designate all of Israel, the northern kingdom. “Israel” and Ephraim are often used in parallelism (see, for example, 5.3; 11.8). Good News Translation regularly changes Ephraim to “Israel” to make the referent clear. Translators should decide which policy to follow in their work on this prophet (and other Old Testament prophets as well), and follow that decision consistently. It may be better to follow Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982), which keeps Ephraim but adds this footnote: “Ephraim here stands for the northern kingdom of Israel, as it does in the entire book of Hosea.” Depending on the translation of the two preceding verses, it may be necessary to add a second person plural pronoun, saying “You people of Ephraim.”

Is joined to (also New International Version; similarly New English Bible, New American Bible) expresses the usual meaning of the Hebrew verb here. It can also be translated “has associated with” (Revised English Bible) or “has a partnership with.” A rare meaning of this verb is “put a spell on.” Good News Translation follows this meaning with “are under the spell of,” which is also appropriate in this context. The Hebrew word for idols refers to them in a negative way, since this word means literally “grief” or “pain”.

Let them alone or “Let them go their own way” (Good News Translation) can mean that Yahweh commands the prophet not to interfere with what Israel is doing. It is as if the situation is hopeless, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop Israel from its sinful way of life. On the basis of the Septuagint, Wolff translates “Let him do as he likes!” This is also a clear expression of the hopelessness of Israel’s situation. If second person plural is used for Israel, another possible model is “Do whatever you like!”

A translation model for this verse is:

• Ephraim, you have made an alliance with idols.
Do whatever you like!

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 .