They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. ¹  Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them. ² 

The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, ¹  the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, ²  situated ³  at the head of a rich valley, the crown of those overcome with wine. ⁴ 

The land ¹  dries up ²  and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up ³  and decays. Sharon ⁴  is like the desert; ⁵  Bashan and Carmel ⁶  are parched. ⁷ 

I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The Lord had brought this all about because of his blazing anger. ¹ 

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

I will make you ¹  extremely ²  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ³ 

Then God took note of ¹  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ² 

The Israelites, ¹  however, ²  were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, ³  so that the land was filled with them.

Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles. ¹ 

But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

It is as if I have been given fertile fields or received a beautiful tract of land. ¹ 

They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. ¹ 

There I will make David strong; ¹  I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ² 

The nations will be burned to ashes; ¹  like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.

Israel was a fertile vine that yielded fruit. As his fruit multiplied, he multiplied altars to Baal. ¹  As his land prospered, they adorned the fertility pillars.

Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod, ¹  the flock that belongs to you, ²  the one that lives alone in a thicket, in the midst of a pastureland. ³  Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, ⁴  as they did in the old days. ⁵ 

They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. ¹  These are things they ²  adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, ³  from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people ⁴  will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. ⁵ 

God blessed them ¹  and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ² 

Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ¹  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ² 

I will turn to you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and maintain ¹  my covenant with you.