Ephraim will be like a bird; what they value ¹  will fly away. They will not bear children – they will not enjoy pregnancy – they will not even conceive! ² 

Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.

She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord ¹  said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity ²  on the nation ³  of Israel. For ⁴  I will certainly not forgive ⁵  their guilt. ⁶ 

So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ¹  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ²  especially when my husband is old too?” ³ 

Later the older daughter said ¹  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ²  to have sexual relations with us, ³  according to the way of all the world.

But the children struggled ¹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ²  So she asked the Lord, ³ 

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ¹  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. ¹ 

So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. ¹  The Lord enabled her to conceive ²  and she gave birth to a son.

So David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and had marital relations with her. ¹  She gave birth to a son, and David ²  named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved the child ³ 

For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. ¹  Look, this ²  young woman ³  is about to conceive ⁴  and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him ⁵  Immanuel. ⁶ 

I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,

“This is what Hezekiah says: ¹  ‘This is a day of distress, insults, ²  and humiliation, ³  as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁴ 

No one is concerned about justice; ¹  no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words ²  and tell lies; they conceive of oppression ³  and give birth to sin.

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up ¹  oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ² 

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now.

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

And he ¹  who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit ²  intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.

Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, ¹  our ancestor Isaac –

And Adam had marital relations ¹  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ²  me another child ³  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”