As for Ephraim,their glorywill flyawaylike a bird--Nobirth,nopregnancyand noconception!
The inhabitantsof Samariawill fearFor the calfof Beth-aven.Indeed,its peoplewill mournfor it, And its idolatrouspriestswill cryout overit, Overits glory,sinceit has departedfrom it.
Givethem, O LORD--whatwill You give?Givethem a miscarryingwomband drybreasts.
The more they multiplied,the morethey sinnedagainst Me; I will changetheir gloryinto shame.
"Cursed[shall be] the offspringof your bodyand the produceof your ground,the increaseof your herdand the youngof your flock.
"For behold,the daysare comingwhenthey will say,Blessedare the barren,and the wombsthat neverbore,and the breaststhat nevernursed.'
Thussaysthe LORD,"For threetransgressionsof the sonsof Ammonand for fourI will not revokeits [punishment], Becausethey rippedopenthe pregnantwomenof GileadIn orderto enlargetheir borders.
Ifa manfathersa hundred[children] and livesmanyyears,however manythey be, but his soulis not satisfiedwith goodthingsand he does not evenhavea [proper] burial,[then] I say,"Betterthe miscarriagethanhe,
[Let them be] as a snailwhich meltsawayas it goesalong, [Like] the miscarriagesof a womanwhich neverseethe sun.
"Indeed,the lightof the wickedgoesout, And the flameof his firegivesnolight.
"As the firstbornof his ox,majestyis his, And his hornsare the hornsof the wildox;With them he will pushthe peoples,Allat once,[to] the endsof the earth.And thoseare the tenthousandsof Ephraim,And thoseare the thousandsof Manasseh."
and toward her afterbirthwhich issuesfrom betweenher legsand toward her childrenwhomshe bears;for she will eatthem secretlyfor lackof anything[else], during the siegeand the distressby whichyour enemywill oppressyou in your towns.
"Josephis a fruitfulbough,A fruitfulboughby a spring;[Its] branchesrunovera wall.
He namedthe secondEphraim,"For," [he said], "Godhas mademe fruitfulin the landof my affliction."
"The fortifiedcitywill disappearfrom Ephraim,And sovereigntyfrom DamascusAnd the remnantof Aram;They will be like the gloryof the sonsof Israel,"Declaresthe LORDof hosts.
Ephraimwill becomea desolationin the dayof rebuke;Among the tribesof IsraelI declarewhat is sure.
Michalthe daughterof Saulhadnochildto the dayof her death.
