Hosea 10:11 (DBY)

Passage

And Ephraim is a trained heifer, that loveth to tread out [the corn]; I have passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to draw; Judah shall plough, Jacob shall break his clods.

Nearby Context

Hosea 10:9 From the days of Gibeah hast thou sinned, O Israel: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

Hosea 10:10 At my pleasure will I chastise them; and the peoples shall be assembled against them, when they are bound for their two iniquities.

Hosea 10:11 And Ephraim is a trained heifer, that loveth to tread out [the corn]; I have passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to draw; Judah shall plough, Jacob shall break his clods.

Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:13 Ye have ploughed wickedness, reaped iniquity, eaten the fruit of lies; for thou didst confide in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ephraim", "trained", "heifer", "loveth", "tread", "corn", "passed", and "over". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ephraim" and "trained", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "At my pleasure will I chastise them..." into verse 12's "Sow to yourselves in righteousness reap according...", so "ephraim" and "trained" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ephraim" and "trained" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.