Psalm 139:
“13 For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;
¹⁶ Your eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in Your book were written
All the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.”

A little Hebrew word study: 1) Vs 13 “created” is qanah: To acquire, to buy, to possess, to create. It is usually transated as “purchase, bought, acquired”. NASB translates it “created” but the idea is that God took possession of our “innermost parts”. 2) Vs 13 “Innermost parts” is (kilyah: Kidneys). AI: “In the sacrificial system the kidneys, always accompanied by the encasing fat, were removed from every peace, sin, and burnt offering and placed upon the altar as Yahweh’s exclusive portion (for example, Exodus 29:13; Leviticus 3:4; 4:9; 8:16). Thus the kidneys were the choicest inward parts of the human body. The idea is that God claimed our inward parts as His own to direct their formation in the womb. 3) Vs 13The Hebrew for “wove” is cakak: To cover, to hedge, to protect, to overshadow. It was the word used of the cherubim covering the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. So the idea is that God protected the forming of all of our inward parts after conception under His Divine control.

4) Vs 14″Awesomely” is yare’: Fear, revere, be afraid and appears approximately three hundred thirty-one times in the Old Testament, embracing the spectrum from terror before danger to reverent awe before the LORD. The idea here is reverent awe of God’s power as He forms all the parts of the body. 5) Vs 14 “Wonderfully” is palah: To be distinct, to be separated, to be distinguished, to be wonderful. “The verb פָלָה (palah) expresses the action of setting apart, distinguishing, or dealing differently with someone or something. In every occurrence the initiative belongs to the LORD, who marks out persons or groups for protection, favor, or wonder.” (biblehub.org) The idea is that each person is set apart as a unique creation of God. Indeed, every person has a unique DNA, the instructions for all the parts. 6) Vs 14 “Wonderful” is pala: To be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be difficult, to be marvelous. It “is the Old Testament’s principal verb for what is “extraordinary,” “beyond human capacity,” or “wonderfully accomplished.” When attributed to the Lord it celebrates His miraculous interventions”. (biblehub.org) It is inconceivable that the body parts could have ever evolved without miraculous intervention. All the part have to be there for a living human being to live, to exist. How could one part start being randomly formed by chance? It would have no function without other parts, so how would it survive long enough (over long periods of time) to form the other needed parts? That whole 9 months of gestation is nothing but a miracle of God.

7) Vs 15 “Frame” is otsem: Might, strength, power. It “carries an inner‐core emphasis. Whether rendered “strength,” “might,” or “frame,” it points to the hidden structure that makes outward action possible. The word paints a picture of bones that give shape, or of latent force that empowers deeds—something unseen yet indispensable.” (biblehub.org) The formation of the body parts is hidden to the naked eye but not hidden from God. We do an ultrasound to see the unborn baby in the womb but God has His ultrasound eye watching every second of the formation process from conception to birth. 8) Vs 15 “Skillfully” is raqam: To embroider, to weave with colored threads. The idea is that God, like a weaver of threads into a garment, makes and shapes every part of the body in the womb until it is born with all the parts working in harmony. Can you picture God as a weaver doing that? 9) Vs 16 “Formless substance” is golem: Unformed substance, embryo. It “denotes an unshaped, embryonic form. The noun appears a single time in Scripture and immediately evokes the mystery of God’s creative work at the earliest stage of human life.” (biblehub.org) The idea is that we cannot see that actual moment that life begins in the womb but that God’s eyes can. God’s measuring our time on earth begins at conception. The Psalmist says that “All the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” 10) Vs 16 “Ordained” is yatsar: To form, fashion, create. It “depicts purposeful forming, shaping or fashioning. Scripture applies the term pre-eminently to God, whose intentional artistry brings creation, covenant people and individual destinies into being.” (biblehub.org) God sees your whole destiny. That statement starts life at day 0 and includes our entire life. Does that mean that everything we do in our entire lives is predestined and we can’t change our fate or destiny? I don’t think so but that is anothe study perhaps. My theory is that God can choose to know every single detail of our future but doesn’t have to do that in order to be God. That leaves room for free will choices that can dictate our future. The other option is Calvinistic predestination which I don’t believe is Biblical.

I can understand from human reasoning all the arguments that are given by abortion activists. AI: “Pro-abortion (pro-choice) arguments center on bodily autonomy, reproductive freedom as a human right, women’s equality, health, and socioeconomic factors, asserting that individuals should control their reproductive lives, preventing forced pregnancy, ensuring safe healthcare, and enabling life choices, while also citing potential benefits like sparing children from abusive homes or poor conditions. Key themes include that only the pregnant person should decide, abortion access promotes gender equality, bans create unsafe abortions, and it’s a crucial healthcare decision.” If someone does not believe in God or in the Bible, then I could see them arguing for abortion rights. To them, abortion is not destroying life but simply destroying a blob of matter before it becomes life. But even then, when would abortionists say that the embryo does become a living being? After the first trimester, or the second trimester?

But if you believe the Bible, then several verses show that the Holy Spirit tells us that life begins at conception. To me, Psalm 139:13-16 are the most convincing Bible verses that show that life beings at conception for all the reasons given above. Then there is Jeremiah 1:5 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” That verse indicates that God knew Jeremiah even before the gestation period in the womb began. That indicates that God considered life to exist during the whole 9 months in the womb.

But even if you don’t believe that Psalm 139 is inspired by the Holy Spirit, I would still argue that life begins at coneption. You have all your unique DNA at conception that dictates the formation of all the body parts. DNA “is a complex molecule that carries the genetic instructions inside living cells, acting like a blueprint for building and operating an organism, but it requires a cell’s machinery to function and replicate.” AI: “DNA begins its work at the exact moment of conception (fertilization), when sperm and egg fuse to form a unique zygote (a single, lving cell), creating a complete genetic blueprint that directs the new cell to divide, organize, and develop into a full organism, with genes activating immediately to guide this complex process. This single cell contains all the instructions for the individual’s traits, and this genetic information starts directing development from the very first moments, even before implantation.” In other words at conception, a living cell is formed and the DNA begins to go to work. In other words, there is life in the zygote at conception. How can anyone say that there is no life at conception if there is life in the living cell zygote formed at conception. To destroy the zygote or embryo at any time after conception is to destroy life itself. The arguments for abortion rights might sound convincing to some, but the mother’s rights to her body do not include the right to destroy a living zygote or embryo. There are no other humanistic reasons that can justify taking of life at any time after conception.

In other words, I believe that life begins at conception and aborting that life at any time after conception is the destroying of life, which is forbidden by God. There could be an exception for saving the mother’s life if a choice has to be made. To me, rape is not a justifiable reason for an abortion. There is still life at conception in the womb of a rape victim. A child born after rape can always be given up for adoption. Over 63 million legal abortions have occurred in the U.S. since 1973 (Roe V Wade legalizing abortion). Around 73 million induced abortions happen globally each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the U.S., numbers vary by source, with estimates around 600,000 to over 900,000 yearly. “The overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, 2022 has not led to a national decrease in abortions. While some states enacted bans, shifting abortion access, overall numbers rose due to medication abortion availability and cross-state travel, with some sources showing a slight drop in the first half of 2025 in non-ban states.” (AI) “Testimonies from botched abortion survivors, like Melissa Ohden, describe surviving toxic saline infusions or other procedures intended to end their lives, being left for dead, and later finding purpose as advocates for abortion survivors.” (AI) Of course failed abortion attempts in the latter stages of gestation would not prove that life begins at conception, but it would argue that even abortions in the 2nd and 3rd trimester are the taking of life. I found this to be interesting (if accurate): AI: “in early U.S. history (colonial to mid-1800s), abortion was a common, legal practice before “quickening” (fetal movement), often provided by midwives using herbal remedies, with laws only criminalizing it later in the 19th century as medical professionals pushed for restrictions due to safety concerns and changing societal views, though early beliefs considered a fetus not a person until movement was felt.” But what did the churches in early US believe about abortion? AI: “The dominant Christian worldview in early America viewed abortion as morally wrong, viewing it as the destruction of human life, with condemnation appearing in foundational Christian texts like the Didache and writings from early church fathers. Texts from the 1st and 2nd centuries, like the Didache and the Letter of Barnabas, explicitly forbade abortion, linking it to murder and infanticide, a stance rooted in Jewish ethics and the belief in the sanctity of life from conception. Writers like Athenagoras (2nd Century) and St. Basil the Great (4th Century) called abortion “murder”. ” The condemnation of abortion by early Christians and by churches since then does not prove that life begins at conception, but it supports the pro-life position. Many, but not all, LGBTQ churches approve of abortion, The Bible itself is the authority for condemning abortion regardless of what churches say.

My prayer is that one person out there who reads this might be convinced to not abort a baby if they are thinking about doing that. For the rest of us, we need to have our Bible verses ready to discuss this issue with people, especially with young people who often are easily led astray by pro abortion activists’ arguments.