Limitless Word
“Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned.
Hosea 7:8 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Ephraim, he mixes himself among the nations. Ephraim is a pancake not turned over.
  • KJV Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
  • BSB Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake.
  • NASB ¶Ephraim is himself thrown about with the nations; Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.
  • NLT “The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Ephraim mixes with the nations and has become like a half-baked cake, unturned and useless.

Overview

By entangling itself in foreign alliances and pagan ways, Ephraim has lost its distinct identity as God's people, becoming like a cake burned on one side and raw on the other. The image conveys something spoiled and good for nothing. This warning against worldly compromise calls God's people in every age to remain set apart for Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Ps 106:35but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
  • Neh 13:23–25In those days I also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab;
  • Ezra 9:12Now therefore don’t give your daughters to their sons. Don’t take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever; that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
  • Mal 2:11Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
  • Ezra 9:1Now when these things were done, the princes came near to me, saying, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, following their abominations, even those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
  • 1 Kgs 18:21Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
  • Zeph 1:5those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam,
  • Matt 6:24“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
  • Hos 5:13“When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
  • Hos 9:3They won’t dwell in Yahweh’s land; but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
  • Hos 8:2–4They cry to me, ‘My God, we Israel acknowledge you!’
  • Hos 5:7They are unfaithful to Yahweh; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
  • Rev 3:15–16“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.
  • Ezek 23:4–11Their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hosea videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hosea 7:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HoseaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.

How Hosea 7:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.