Psalms 81:12

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ¹ 

they did what seemed right to them. ² 

Isaiah 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Hosea 9:11-12

The Fertility Worshipers Will Become Infertile

9:11 Ephraim will be like a bird;

what they value ³  will fly away.

They will not bear children –

they will not enjoy pregnancy –

they will not even conceive! ⁴ 

9:12 Even if they raise their children,

I will take away every last one of them. ⁵ 

Woe to them!

For I will turn away from them.

Hosea 9:16-17

9:16 Ephraim will be struck down ⁶  –

their root will be dried up;

they will not yield any fruit.

Even if they do bear children,

I will kill their precious offspring.

9:17 My God will reject them,

for they have not obeyed him;

so they will be fugitives among the nations.

[81:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ² tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[9:11]  ³ tn Heb “their glory” (so NASB); TEV “Israel’s greateness.”

[9:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “no childbearing, no pregnancy, no conception.” The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to the three parallel nouns functions in a privative sense, indicating deprivation (BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7).

[9:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will bereave them from a man”; NRSV “I will bereave them until no one is left.”

[9:16]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, following the plant metaphor, “will be blighted” (NIV similar).