the Angel who has protected me from all harm -- bless these boys. May my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. May they grow into a multitude on the earth."

Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall.

May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox; with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

"Yes, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; his flame of fire does not shine.

From the birth

Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along! Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!

Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years -- even if he lives a long, long time, but cannot enjoy his prosperity -- even if he were to live forever -- I would say, "A stillborn child is better off than he is!"

This is what the Lord says: "Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead's pregnant women so they could expand their territory.

From the womb

Give them, O Lord -- what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry, and breasts that cannot nurse!

Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!'