Give them, O Lord— what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
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.
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.
But woe to women who are pregnant and to those who nurse in those days!
Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse in those days!
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.
Just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place, so now Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.
As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird: no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
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.
Your offspring will be cursed along with the fruit of your land, the produce of your herd, and the flocks of your sheep.