16 Ephraim {\cf2\super [97]} will be punished.\par Their root is dying.\par They will not have any more babies.\par They might give birth to babies,\par but I will kill the precious babies\par that come from their bodies.\par
16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb.
16 Ephraim has been struck; their root has been dried out: by no means will they yield fruit. And even if they should conceive, I will execute the most beloved of their womb.
to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord my Master said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see that place. You really love that place. \{But I will destroy that place\} and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle.
\{Bad things will happen to those people\}. Their descendants {\cf2\super [55]} will be completely destroyed—like straw and leaves are burned by fire. Their descendants will be destroyed like a root \{that dies and\} becomes dust. Their descendants will be destroyed like a fire destroys a flower—the ashes blow away in the wind.
“That time of judgment is coming. It will be like a hot furnace. All those proud people will be punished. All those evil people will burn like straw. At that time, they will be like a bush burning in the fire—and there will not be a branch or root left.” The Lord All-Powerful said these things.
The Israelites \{did a foolish thing\}—it was like trying to plant the wind. But \{they will get only troubles\}—they will harvest a whirlwind. The grain in the fields will grow. It will give no food. Even if it grew something, strangers would eat it.
\{Those rulers are like plants\};\par they are planted in the ground,\par but before they can send their roots\par into the ground,\par God blows on the “plants,”\par and they become dead and dry,\par and the wind blows them away like straw.\par
In the streets, soldiers will kill them.
In their houses, terrible things will happen.
Soldiers will kill young men and women.
They will kill babies and old people.