Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageEphraim is cut down at the root — dried up and fruitless. And even if they conceive and give birth, I will put to death the very children they hold most dear.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GEphrayim is struck — their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even if they do give birth, I will slay the beloved ones of their womb.
KJV
King James VersionEphraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleEphraim is struck down; their root is withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.
Footnotes
מַחֲמַדֵּי בִטְנָם (machmadei vitnam, "the beloved ones of their womb") uses the plural of מַחְמַד (machmad) — meaning the most precious, cherished, treasured person or object; elsewhere this word describes the most valued treasures of the temple itself. The phrase therefore means not merely "their children" but "the children who are everything to them." The image of a struck and withered root bearing no fruit carries the prophetic vine/vineyard metaphor that runs through Isaiah and Jeremiah, and anticipates the teaching on the fruitless branch in John 15.
