Hosea 10:11

And Ephraim, &c. Rather, Ephraim indeed is a heifer broken in and loving to thresh, and I have spared the beauty of her neck; (but now) will I make Ephraim to draw. Israel's punishment is enhanced by contrast with her former prosperity, which, as a mark of the Divine goodness, is compared to the consideration with which a young heifer is treated by its master. The work of treading out the corn was pleasant and easy; the heifer could eat freely as it walked without a muzzle round and round the threshing-floor (Deuteronomy 25:4). But this heifer, that is, Israel, has abused the kindness of its Lord (comp. Deuteronomy 32:15), and henceforth shall be put to the heavy labour of the field a figure for the depressing conditions of life under a foreign master. The rendering -spared" (literally, -passed by") is justified by Micah 7:18; Proverbs 19:11; it adds a beautiful distinctness to the figure, for the heavy yokes used in the East not only gall the necks of the animals, but often produce deep wounds. The meaning is that Jehovah has hitherto preserved his people from the yoke of captivity; compare the different applications of the same figure in Hosea 11:4. -Make to draw"; lit. -make to ride", but râkab, as the usage of the cognate word in Arabic shows, can have various secondary meanings. [Space forbids a record of all the explanations of this passage; none is so simple as that of Buhl given above. The objection that to -pass by" is elsewhere used with reference to transgression is not conclusive; the idiom is just as applicable in the present case. There is good authority, however, for the rendering or paraphrase, -I mounted upon her fair neck", though why the -beauty" of the neck should be mentioned, is not clear.]

Judah shall plow Judah, then, is also a -stubborn heifer", and cannot be exempted from her sister's punishment.