for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.

The Children of Jacob

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.

By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

“Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s.

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

“All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep.

“Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine,

For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel.

Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”

“Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you.

For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb.

And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.

And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?

‘Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit.”

The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.

Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

(But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);

“Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.

I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.

The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.

Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

The grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says, “Enough!”

What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?

As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand.

As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children.

Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

Judah Will Be Restored

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:

Surely you did not hear, Surely you did not know; Surely from long ago your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, And were called a transgressor from the womb.

The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles

“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

“And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength),

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.

Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Because he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me.

Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame?

Give them, O Lord— What will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb And dry breasts!

Ephraim is stricken, Their root is dried up; They shall bear no fruit. Yes, were they to bear children, I would kill the darlings of their womb.”

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God.

For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Circumcision of Jesus

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),

Keeping the Word

And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;

Idolatry at Lystra

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.

And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,