Psalm 139:13-16
Poetic description of God forming and knowing the psalmist in the womb.
BIBLE QUESTION DOSSIER
The Bible does not use a modern term equivalent to elective abortion or give a direct procedure-specific command about it. It does speak extensively about life in the womb, God’s knowledge/calling of persons before birth, pregnancy loss, and penalties involving harm to pregnant women.
Because the modern legal and medical category is not directly named, Christian arguments about abortion draw theological conclusions from broader biblical teaching about human life, the womb, image of God, justice and care for vulnerable people.
The five translations below are stored locally on Born Again Daily, so you can see the wording before anyone tells you what to think about it.
Poetic description of God forming and knowing the psalmist in the womb.
God says he knew Jeremiah before forming him in the womb.
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.
‘Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.’
The unborn John responds in Elizabeth’s womb.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
39 In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, 40 where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”
39 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, that the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
39 And Mary arose in these days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; 42 and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? 44 For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.
39 And Mary having arisen in those days, went to the hill-country, with haste, to a city of Judea, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe did leap in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and spake out with a loud voice, and said, ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb; 43 and whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come unto me? 44 for, lo, when the voice of thy salutation came to my ears, leap in gladness did the babe in my womb; 45 and happy is she who did believe, for there shall be a completion to the things spoken to her from the Lord.’
A difficult legal text involving injury to a pregnant woman and/or premature birth; translations and interpretations differ.
22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart [from her], and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges [determine]. 23 And if [any] mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
22 If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows. 23 But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life— 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.
22 “If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow. 23 But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he shall be surely fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
22 ‘And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges; 23 and if there is mischief, then thou hast given life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Important: a lexicon gives a word’s possible senses and usage; it does not magically choose the correct sense without context. “The true meaning” of a biblical word is the meaning it carries in its actual sentence and historical usage.
Sees unborn human life as bearing full moral value and interprets the womb texts, creation theology and commands against killing as protecting the unborn.
Some Christians weigh fetal life together with the pregnant woman’s life, health, agency, tragic circumstances and uncertainty about how specific biblical laws map onto modern medicine.
There is no verse that names the modern medical procedure and then gives a complete legal policy. Modern conclusions are theological applications built from broader texts.
The Bible does not directly discuss elective abortion as a modern medical category. It does portray prenatal life as known and formed by God. Christians then disagree about how those truths should govern every medical, moral and legal circumstance.