Give them, O Lord— what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
Their bull breeds without failure; their cow gives calves without miscarriage.
No one shall be miscarrying or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days.
As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird: no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
Just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place, so now Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.
Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will slay the beloved offspring of their womb.
Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse in those days!
But woe to women who are pregnant and to those who nurse in those days!
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.
For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, who never bore and never nursed!’
I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.
Your offspring will be cursed along with the fruit of your land, the produce of your herd, and the flocks of your sheep.