Jeremiah 1:5 is about Jeremiah specifically, not every unborn child. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” — Jeremiah 1:5 Look at the grammar: “you,” “you,” “you.” God is speaking directly to one specific person. Who? Verse 4 tells us: “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying…” The “me” is Jeremiah. Jeremiah then responds directly to God in verse 6 …“Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” God answers him directly in verse 7: “But the LORD said to me… you shall go to all that I shall send you…” …Then verse 9: “The LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth… Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” And verse 10 gives the purpose: “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms…”…So the entire passage is one continuous conversation between God and Jeremiah, culminating in Jeremiah’s appointment as a prophet. That matters because verse 5 does not merely say: “I knew you before birth.”…It says: “I knew you… I sanctified you… and I ordained you a prophet.” All three statements concern the same individual: Jeremiah, whose prophetic calling is being described…So if someone uses Jeremiah 1:5 as though God is making a universal statement about every unborn human, that conclusion does not come from the grammar of the verse itself…The text is specifically addressed to Jeremiah and specifically connects the prenatal statements to his prophetic appointment…That doesn’t by itself settle the entire biblical question of abortion. It establishes the narrower point: Jeremiah 1:5 is not, grammatically or contextually, a universal statement about every unborn child. To make that broader application, you need an additional argument. In the book of Numbers 5 verse 21-23 it says “ here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[d] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”“‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.” “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.” the passage speaks about an abortion being performed on a woman who has committed adultry. It is described as justice be done. There is no mourning, there is no mention ending a life or taking a life.
First, welcome @kv100. Glad you found us. If you really want to know the Truth, you are in the right place.
You asked, “I’m trying to reconcile what Scripture says with the common belief that abortion is murder. Can anyone point me to Scripture that bridges that gap?” Then you proceed to denounce Jeremiah 1:5, rightly pointing out that it has nothing to do with us all, but rather specifically with Jeremiah.
Now, to be truthful, I have a feeling you really do not want an answer, but you did ask, so here you go. Follow along. “Thou shalt not kill.” Exodus 20:13
First, the translation here is poor. It should be, “Thou shalt not commit murder.” We kill things all day long—weeds, trees, mosquitoes, ants, animals for food, etc. What God is concerned about in this commandment is the taking of innocent human life. In Genesis 9:1-6
"And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man, I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
So you see, God makes a very clear distinction between the two things here. First, the killing of anything but man is OK with God. He gave us all the things to meet our needs. He is also the one who set up the Death Penalty. “He who sheds man’s blood, shall by man, his blood will be shed.” That is how important God sees the life of human beings. Remember, in Genesis 1:26, God tells us this.
“Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
We are made in God’s image. Our mind is what makes us. Our intelligence, will, emotions, desires, reasoning, etc., are fashioned after God the Father. Our flesh, after Jesus, is the flesh of God. Then, our spirit, which lives on when the flesh dies, is after the Holy Spirit. Three, yet one.
Now remember, we all sin and come short of the glory of God. We were so evil that God sought to destroy us all and start over until He found Noah faithful. He sets up this death penalty, this cost for innocent life, AFTER the flood.
There are four primary ways to end human life.
Premeditated Murder
Justified Killings
Accidental Death
Abortion, yes, Abortion is the murder of an innocent Life.
In Psalms.
"For you formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
In your book, were written,
every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
When there was yet none of them.How precious to me are your thoughts,
O God! How vast is the sum of them!If I were to count them,
they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you." Psalm 139:13-18
God created us according to His will. You are uniquely designed for a purpose and hold great importance to God above all else. Now, if you want to discuss premeditated murder, justified killings, or accidental death, we can, but sticking with your question about Abortion, we will jump right to it.
Abortion.
Even though abortion is becoming illegal in many states, thank God, it is said that for every 1,000 live births in the U.S., 219 pregnancies end with a murdered child through abortion. Yes, abortion IS the murder of innocent life.
I understand some do not want to accept that. I understand that we had a group of people in black robes, in the sixties, say that a woman can “choose” to murder her child. That doesn’t make it right. Just because something is legal in the country doesn’t mean it’s OK. No one has the “right” to murder an innocent child. No one. Thankfully, that has been overturned, and we are starting to win that battle.
Continued…
God knows you even before you come into being. You are who you are because God ordained it. Remember the five steps of an Anointed Life? First, God foreknows you; then, He establishes a destiny, a plan, and a purpose for you. He calls you to accept this path, justifies you, and ultimately glorifies you.
You are created the way God wants you to be. You have blue eyes, brown eyes, you are this tall, you are right-handed, or left-handed. You are the way you are because God fashioned you that way, for a reason. When does life begin? I say BEFORE conception. No doubt, at conception. You are a plan. Then conception happens, and you become a physical life.
Think about this. We are all born into sin. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Now, picture that child who has not been born yet. It is murdered before they get the chance to be born. They are completely sinless. They are PURE. Completely innocent. God takes this very seriously. In Exodus.
“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Exodus 21:22-25
The accidental death of an unborn child is punishable according to God. Of course, if the intent IS to harm the unborn, then one is guilty of murder. Here is one of those passages that is constantly misunderstood. In many cases, it is taught incorrectly.
“But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
God is speaking about an unborn child here. He says that if men try to harm a woman “with child” or do so with the intention of hurting that child, they are guilty of murdering the most innocent life. If they interfere with God’s plan, the penalty is clear.
For example, if God designed a person to have two legs and two arms, and a man interferes, causing the child to be born with only one arm, the one responsible must give up their own. This shows how highly God values the unborn. His greatest gift to us, aside from salvation, is children. Of course, abortion is murder—the murder of the most innocent of all life. Hope this answered your question.
Again, welcome. Be blessed.
Peter
The verse you quote in regards to what David is saying, David is simply reflecting on his own existence. A Dear Diary as to put it. Because of course he was in the womb prior to then because he was existing as an adult when he spoke about it. There is nothing more to it
Notice how the verse begins that if the pregnant woman is affected and her CHILDREN is born its a fine. it describes what comes out of the women in the pregancy to be a child which is a developed being so it stands to be that even when she is harmed the lost would be a loss of CHILD which is a developed being. your argument that life begins at conception doesnt make sense. the text is talking about loss of a developed child in pregnancy. Show me a verse that say abortion is murder(intentional ending of a pregnancy)?
@kv100
Welcome new contributor.
I read your post with interest, specifically looking for the content that demonstrates that you are actually “…trying to reconcile what scripture says with the common belief that abortion is murder. I’m happy to comply with your request for assistance. I’ll do my best.
Peter C has provided some of the most commonly provided, and easily understood scriptures that demonstrate God’s obvious viewpoint on this subject. You seem to be holding a personal interpretation of some of those passages. I understand; your viewpoint is personal, and not uncommon.
So, considering this interaction so far, I think a better place for you to start your noble quest of “reconciling what scripture says with the common belief that abortion is murder” is to begin where you are presently.
If we can agree to define the term “murder” to mean one human being unjustly taking the life of another human being, then let me ask you, in your current thinking, how can abortion not be murder? On what do you base any conclusion that abortion might be something other than murder? Can you explain to me what source of authority declares abortion to be something other than murder?
Let’s try assisting you in your reconciliation quest from this starting point. OK?
Cool?
KP
@kv100
One question before we go any further. Is a fetus, from the Latin fētus, meaning “offspring” or “unborn young,” a human being?
And…
Strongest references, what you asked for..
Psalm 139:13–16
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”
“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written…”
This is probably the strongest passage for your question. David speaks of himself as “my substance” while still unformed in the womb, and says God saw him there.
Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…”
Notice the sequence: “before I formed thee” - “I knew thee” - “before thou camest forth.” The person whom God knew is the same person whom God formed in the womb.
Isaiah 49:1
“The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.”
And verse 5:
“And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant…”
The individual is spoken of as the same person from the womb and as one whom God formed there.
Galatians 1:15
Paul uses remarkably similar language here…
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace…”
Paul’s divine calling is described in relation to him from his mother’s womb.
Before birth, yet treated as a person
Psalm 51:5
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Whatever theological conclusion one draws concerning original sin, David’s language identifies the “I” with the person at conception.
Can’t vouch for the accuracy of this, but…
For example, a 2003 CDC report showed that only 0.118% of all abortions were performed for the life or safety of the mother. The former U. S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, went as far to say that, “Protection of the life of the mother as an excuse for an abortion is a smoke screen. In my thirty-six years in pediatric surgery I have never known of one instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother’s life” — C. Everett Koop. “A Physician Speaks About Abortion”
J.
Im thinking of Christ’s admonitions to us. IE; Lust is adultery , anger is murder etc…
In that sense we are ALL guilty.
Correction…I’m guilty.
Noted, and correct you are, we are all guilty for breaking the commandments of Christ Jesus, on a daily basis.
J.
Had a dear old friend ( rest in peace brother ) who was fond of saying,
" We are blessed and highly favored "
Where did you get that from?
In the original Hebrew, the phrase used in Exodus 21:22 is yatsa yeladeha (יָצְאוּ יְלָדֶיהָ), which literally translates to “her children come out.” The Hebrew root yeled (child) is the same word used for a born child, an infant, or a young boy throughout the Old Testament. The Hebrew language makes no distinction in value or terminology between an unborn child and a born child.
The phrase 'ason (harm/fatality) in verses 22–23 applies to both the mother and the unborn child. If no harm (death/injury) follows the premature birth, a fine is imposed for the distress. But if harm (death) occurs—whether to the mother OR the child—the law of lex talionis applies: “life for life.” Scripture treats the destruction of the unborn child’s life as a capital loss.
While Psalm 139 is poetic praise, it reflects consistent, systematic biblical theology found across both Testaments: Jeremiah 1:5, which you dismissed as nothing. Forgetting that if God knows Jeremiah before He is born, He knows you. God speaks directly here, establishing that His plan precedes physical development. Luke 1:41: John the Baptist leaps in Elizabeth’s womb upon hearing Mary’s greeting, showing spiritual capacity and recognition while still unborn.
“Show me a verse that say abortion is murder(intentional ending of a pregnancy)?”
This argument is a combination of an Anachronism and a Logical Fallacy (specifically a Category Mistake or Etymological Fallacy). Demanding that an ancient text written in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, or Koine Greek contain modern English clinical, legal, or political terminology (such as “abortion,” “Trinity,” or “incarnation”) is chronological nonsense.
Scripture rarely names modern medical procedures explicitly; instead, it establishes core moral principles that govern them. The Sixth Commandment forbids the unlawful killing of an innocent human being (Exodus 20:13). Once Scripture establishes that the unborn entity is a human life (yeled) known and fashioned by God, the prohibition against taking innocent human life applies directly to the unborn.
Be blessed,
Peter
Me too.
Be blessed brother.
Peter
Exodus 20:13 (post must be at least 20 characters long)
Me three.
There are times our only reference with difficult topics, in need of Truth. Such as this,
Require a wise reading of The Word.
I know, I have nothing better to say
I can just do what I have the capacity to.
Love my neighbor. And THAT is my conundrum.
Abortion is murder because life begins at conception: the fertilizing of the egg comes from the blood in the father’s sperm, the moment the sperm enters the egg growth begins, science also tells you this despite what liars like to claim. Scripture says the same:
Leviticus 17:14
For the life of every creature is its blood: ITS BLOOD IS ITS LIFE. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.
When the blood of the father enters the egg of the mother, and growth begins, the egg has been fertilized and is now alive - it does not matter that it does not look human yet, that is just the growth process. God commands that you not kill the innocent:
Exodus 23:7
Keep far from a false charge, and DO NOT KILL THE INNOCENT AND RIGHTEOUS, for I will not acquit the wicked.
The child now growing in the mother’s womb is a living human being, it is innocent because it has not committed sin (the false teachings of Calvinism that we are all conceived sinners is just that, false), therefore to kill an innocent child is murder, and we are commanded not to commit murder.
Blessings.
I think you should read what i had written originally…
In the most explicit sense, there is no passage of Scripture which outright calls the deliberate termination of a pregnancy “murder”.
Christian Tradition, instead, builds this idea on a framework that recognizes human personhood as rooted in human ensoulment. If there is a human soul, then there is a human person. In this, Christian moral and ethical practice has always regarded abortion–the termination of a pregnancy–to be immoral and sinful.
So while Scripture does not explicitly address the subject; Scripture does provide moral language that has always informed Christian opinion–and Christian opinion has been (historically) pretty uniform on this subject.
In modern times, the moral, social, and political questions surrounding abortion are indeed complicated. While I maintain that abortion is always horrible, I am not always willing to condemn every act of abortion. As I have known women who have had to terminate their pregnancies because of the physical risks–i.e. they cannot physically carry a child to term, there is a guaranteed result in a miscarriage and, additionally, a high chance of harm or even death to the mother.
I do not regard this as a defense of abortion, but as a recognition of the depth of complexity of a highly difficult and sensitive issue.
I did…what in my response makes you think that I did not? I did not use any passage that you used and gave the context for…because I already know they do not pertain to what you wrote. If you want me to quote the passages I speak about then let me know and I will be glad to do so.
Blessings