הושע, פרק ט׳, פסוק י״א

The devastating loss of a nation's future generation is captured through the tragic imagery of a bird quickly taking flight. The sudden vanishing of children is compared to a bird that abandons its nest and wanders far away, symbolizing how rapidly a family's legacy can disappear [אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון, רש״י, מצודת דוד].

Commentators explore what exactly is lost when this future flies away. One approach explains that the children themselves are the glory, as they serve as a crown to their elders and are meant to honor their parents [רד״ק]. A related view suggests that the lost glory refers to the honor and joy that accompany bringing a child into the world, such as the celebrations of birth and circumcision [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד]. In contrast, another perspective argues that the people lacked honor from the very beginning. Because the children were born out of unfaithfulness, they are considered devoid of splendor from their earliest existence [מלבי״ם].

The tragedy of this lost generation unfolds in three distinct stages of fertility, moving backward from birth to conception, ensuring nothing remains [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. First, infants will not survive the birth itself [רש״י, רד״ק], dying before they can even be circumcised [מצודת דוד]. Going a step further back, fetuses will not survive in the womb [אבן עזרא], resulting in miscarriages and stillbirths [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Finally, the loss reaches the earliest stage of conception, resulting in complete barrenness where women will be entirely unable to become pregnant [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק].

Rather than a simple curse, this total loss of fertility can also be understood as the heartfelt wish of the prophet. He hopes that the people will stop having children and lose them during pregnancy or birth, simply because there is no purpose in raising sons and daughters who are ultimately destined to be killed, a fate that would only leave their parents with unbearable grief [רש״י].