---
title: "Jeremiah 1:5"
description: "God addresses Jeremiah as a known, set-apart, purposed individual before birth and even before formation in the womb. Personal identity and calling precede birth; the unborn is a 'whom,' not a 'what.'"
type: "scripture"
book: "Jeremiah"
chapter: 1
verses: "5"
translation: "NASB"
refutes: "Pro-choice framing"
affirms_abolition: false
themes:
  - "personhood"
  - "God's foreknowledge"
  - "calling"
  - "identity before birth"
source_url: "https://www.abhortion.org/scripture/jeremiah-1-5.html"
---

# Jeremiah 1:5

Book of Jeremiah · Chapter 1

## The text

> “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
> — Jeremiah 1:5, NASB

**The claim this verse counters:** "There is no personal identity or purpose before birth."

## The argument

God addresses Jeremiah as a known, set-apart, purposed individual before birth and even before formation in the womb. Personal identity and calling precede birth; the unborn is a 'whom,' not a 'what.'

## Context & notes

Supplement. Often paired with Psalm 139 and Luke 1. While the verse speaks of God's foreknowledge and calling of a prophet, abolitionists use it to show that Scripture consistently treats the prenatal human as a personal 'you.'

## Themes

- personhood
- God's foreknowledge
- calling
- identity before birth

## Discussion questions

1. God says 'I knew you' before the womb. Can you know a thing, or only a someone?
2. How does Scripture's habit of addressing the unborn as 'you' shape how we should speak of them?

## Related

**Related scriptures:**

- [Psalm 139:13-16](psalm-139-13-16.md)
- [Luke 1:41-44](luke-1-41-44.md)
- [Psalm 51:5](psalm-51-5.md)

**Related arguments:**

- [The unborn bear the image of God, so abortion is murder — a different category than 'a hard choice'](../arguments/arg-image-of-God.md)
- [“The unborn is not a baby or a person until birth (or until viability); personhood is…”](../arguments/def-not-a-person-until-birth.md)

## Attribution

Verse text is quoted from the NASB. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org