“What shall I do with you?
O Ephraim!
What shall I do with you?
O Judah!
Your love is
Like a morning cloud.
Your love is
Like the dew
That goes away early.
Therefore,
I have hewn them
By the prophets.
I have killed them
By the words
Of my mouth.
My judgment
Goes forth
As the light.”
Yahweh, via Hosea, wanted to know what he was going to do with Ephraim and Judah. Their love was like a morning cloud that dissipated or the morning dew that vanished with the sun. Yahweh had cut down the prophets and killed them with his words. His judgment was light in the day. They would suffer for their fickle love of Yahweh.