threshing floor

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “threshing floor” in English is translated in Kim with twal or “termite mound” which are used to build threshing floors. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In Cherokee it is translated as “seeds — the place for knocking them off.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)

See also thresh.

blown by the wind

In Gbaya, the notion of chaff or other items being blown by the wind is emphasized with the ideophone pumyulu.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

rising smoke

In Gbaya, the notion rising smoke is emphasized in the referenced verses with fati̧i̧, an ideophone that described smoke rising in swirls.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

complete verse (Hosea 13:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 13:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “So, they shall perish like a fog that passes by in the morning.
    They are like dew that falls early.
    They will be like chaff that the wind blows from where it is sifted/winnowed
    or smoke that goes through a window.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Since it is like that, they will be like the morning mist,
    like the dew drops that disappear in the morning,
    like the chaff sitting on the threshing floor that the wind blows away,
    and like smoke that comes out of a window.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore you (plur.) will-disappear like a mist or dew in the morning, or like a chaff in the place-of-threshing which-is-blown by the wind or a smoke which comes-out of the chimney.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore they will be like clouds/fog in the morning and dew that in-a-little-while ceases-to-exist. They will be like rice-hulls that the wind blows-away (lit. runs-off-with) and smoke that goes-out of the window.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Therefore, those people will disappear quickly like the morning mist or the dew that lies on the ground early in the morning;
    they will disappear like chaff that is blown away from where the wheat is threshed,
    like smoke that goes out of a chimney.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Hosea 13:3

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hosea 13:3

13:3a–d

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

3a Therefore they will be like the morning mist,

3b like the early dew that vanishes,

3c like chaff blown from a threshing floor,

3d like smoke through an open window.

There is an ellipsis (deliberate omission) of the first three words in 13:3b–d. In many languages, these words will need to be supplied from 13:3a. For example:

3b
⌊ they will be⌋like the early dew that vanishes.

3c
⌊ they will be⌋like chaff blown from a threshing floor,

3d
⌊ they will be⌋like smoke through an open window.

These lines contain four figures of speech (similes) that compare the people to temporary things. In a short time, they will quickly and completely disappear. The repetition of these similar lines gives emphasis to this consequence of their idolatry.

Here are some ways to translate these similes:

• Make explicit that it is the people who will disappear. For example:

So those people will be like the morning mist; they will disappear like the morning dew. (New Century Version)

• Shorten and combine parts of the lines. For example:

And so, all of you will vanish like the mist or the dew of early morning, or husks of grain in the wind or smoke from a chimney. (Contemporary English Version)

13:3a

Therefore: This word introduces the consequence of their ongoing sin of making idols and kissing calves.

Here are some other ways to translate it:

So (New Century Version)

or

That is why (God’s Word)

like the morning mist: The phrase the morning mist probably refers to low-lying clouds or fog that disappears by the time the morning is over.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the morning cloud (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
like fog in the morning (God’s Word)

13:3b

like the early dew that vanishes: This phrase refers to water droplets that collect on plant leaves in the early morning. It evaporates quickly. In some languages, it may be redundant to make the word early explicit.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the dew that quickly disappears (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
like dew in the morning sun (New Living Translation (2004))

13:3c

like chaff blown from a threshing floor: This phrase refers to the husks and dust that remain behind after a farmer threshes grain. The wind carries it off. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blown means to be blown away by a strong wind.

13:3d

like smoke through an open window: This phrase probably refers to smoke from cooking fires or burning lamps that escapes through an opening in the wall.

window: The Hebrew word for window is literally “hole in the wall.” The word meaning does not indicate which part of the wall has the hole. It may be in the upper part of the wall near the roof or elsewhere.

Many versions translate the word as window. Some, such as the Good News Translation, translate it as “chimney.” Note, however, that the Hebrew word does not refer to the kind of window or chimney that is common in modern buildings. Translate this with a word or phrase in your language that best fits the meaning of a hole in the wall through which smoke passes.

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