The Hebrew sha·khalʹ, meaning “suffer an abortion” (Ex 23:26), is also rendered “bereave” (De 32:25), ‘bereave of children’ (Le 26:22), ‘miscarry’ (Ho 9:14), and “prove fruitless” (Mal 3:11).

The expressions “miscarriage” and “one prematurely born” (Ps 58:8; Ec 6:3) render the Hebrew word neʹphel, which comes from the root na·phalʹ, meaning “fall.”​—Compare Isa 26:18.