And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
Parallel translations
- WEB But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
- BSB But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
- NKJV But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
- NASB And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in years.
- NLT They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Despite their faithfulness, they were childless because Elizabeth was barren and both were old. Their situation seemed humanly hopeless.
Overview
Barrenness carried deep sorrow and social stigma in that culture. Like Sarah, Hannah, and other women in Scripture, Elizabeth's barrenness sets the stage for God's miraculous intervention. God often works his greatest purposes where human possibility has run out.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Heb 11:11Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
- 1 Sam 1:2And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
- Gen 25:21And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Gen 18:11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
- Gen 17:17Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
- 2 Kgs 4:14And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
- Judg 13:2–3And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
- Gen 16:1–2Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
- Gen 30:1And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
- Rom 4:19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
- 1 Kgs 1:1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
- Gen 15:2–3And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
- 1 Sam 1:5–8But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 1:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.