Hosea — Chapter 7

Ephraim ipse commistus est populis

Ephraim mixed among the nations, an unturned cake—half raw, half burnt. À Lapide applies this image to those who are lukewarm in faith, neither fully converted nor fully reprobate; he cites Rev. 3:15-16 ('because thou art lukewarm I will vomit thee out'). The grey hairs of age without wisdom signify a life wasted in spiritual adolescence.