Ephraim was the ancestor of the largest tribe in Israel. His name is a metonym for the people of Israel. AT: "I have certainly heard the descendants of Ephraim sorrowing" or "I have certainly heard the people of Israel sorrowing" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
The speaker repeats the phrase to show either that Yahweh punished him severely or that Ephraim learned what Yahweh wanted to teach him through punishing him. The words "I have been punished" can be translated in active form. AT: "You punished me. Yes, you punished me severely" or "You punished me, and I learned from you when you punished me" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive]])
When people train calves, they strike them and otherwise cause them to suffer. Yahweh had caused the people of Israel to suffer. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])
in grief. If people use a different phrase or action in your language to show that they are very sad, you may want to use it here. AT: "I rubbed my brow" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction]])
# I was ashamed and humiliated
The words "ashamed" and "humiliated" mean basically the same thing and intensify the idea of shame. AT: "I was completely ashamed" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet]])
# Is not Ephraim my precious child? Is he not my dear, delightful son?
Yahweh is speaking tenderly, trying to comfort the people. These questions can be translated as statements. AT: "Ephraim is my precious child. He is my dear, delightful son. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in [Jeremiah 1:8](../01/07.md). AT: "this is what Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh, have declared" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-123person]])
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