11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.
11 Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird- no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
11 Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird-- no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
11 Ephraim is fickle and scattered, like a flock of blackbirds, their beauty dissipated in confusion and clamor, Frenetic and noisy, frigid and barren, and nothing to show for it - neither conception nor childbirth.
11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird-- No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
11 The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird, for your children will not be born or grow in the womb or even be conceived.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 9:11
Commentary on Hosea 9:11-17
(Read Hosea 9:11-17)
God departs from a people, or from a person, when he withdraws his goodness and mercy from them; and when the Lord is departed, what can the creature do? Even though, for the present, good things seem to remain, yet the blessing is gone if God is gone. Even the children should perish with the parents. The Divine wrath dries up the root, and withers the fruit of all comforts; and the scattered Jews daily warn us to beware, lest we neglect or abuse the gospel. Yet every smiting is not a drying up of the root. It may be that God intends only to smite so that the sap may be turned to the root, that there may be more of root graces, more humility, patience, faith, and self-denial. It is very just that God should bring judgments on those who slight his offered mercy.