People often think of donkeys as being stubborn. This means the people of Israel refused to listen to Yahweh but instead went to the people of Assyria for help. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])
Ephraim's alliances with other nations are spoken of as if they had paid them to become prostitutes for Ephraim. Alternate translation: "The people of Israel have tried to pay other nations to protect them" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])