Bible verses about "surrogacy" | Bishops

¹ Rachel when she sawe that she bare Iacob no children, she enuied her sister, and sayde vnto Iacob: Geue me children, or els I am but dead ² And Iacobs anger was kyndled agaynst Rachel, and sayde: Am I in Gods steade, whiche kepeth from thee the fruite of thy wombe ³ Then she sayde: Here is my mayde Bilha, go in vnto her, & she shall beare vpon my knees, that I also may haue chyldren by her ⁴ And she gaue him Bilha her handmayde to wyfe: and Iacob went in vnto her ⁵ And Bilha conceaued, and bare Iacob a sonne ⁶ Then saide Rachel: God hath geuen sentence on my side, and hath also heard my voyce, and hath geuen me a sonne: therfore called she hym Dan ⁷ And Bilha Rachels seruant conceaued againe, & bare Iacob another sonne ⁸ And Rachel said: With godly wrastlynges haue I wrastled with my sister, & haue gotten the vpper hande: and she called his name Nephthali ⁹ When Lea sawe that she had left bearyng chyldren she toke Zilpha her mayde, and gaue her Iacob to wyfe ¹⁰ And Zilpha Leas mayde bare Iacob a sonne ¹¹ Then sayde Lea, Good lucke: and called his name Gad ¹² And Zilpha Leas seruaunt bare Iacob an other sonne ¹³ Then saide Lea: happy am I, for the daughters wyll call me blessed: and called his name Aser ¹⁴ And Ruben went out in the dayes of the wheate haruest, & founde Mandragoras in the fielde, and brought them vnto his mother Lea. Then said Rachel to Lea: Geue me I praye thee of thy sonnes Mandragoras ¹⁵ To whom Lea aunswered: Is it not enough that thou hast taken away my husband, but wouldest take away my sonnes Mandragoras also? Then saide Rachel: well, let hym sleepe with thee this night for thy sonnes Mandragoras ¹⁶ And Iacob came from the fielde at euen, and Lea went out to meete hym, and sayde: thou shalt come in to me, for I haue bought thee in deede with my sonne Mandragoras. And he slept with her that same nyght ¹⁷ And God hearde Lea, that she conceaued, and bare Iacob the fift sonne ¹⁸ Then sayde Lea: God hath geuen me a rewarde, because I gaue my mayden to my husbande: and she called him Isachar ¹⁹ And Lea conceaued yet agayne, and bare Iacob the sixt sonne ²⁰ And Lea sayde: God hath endued me with a good dowrie, nowe wyll my husbande dwell with me, because I haue borne hym sixe sonnes: and called his name Zabulon ²¹ After that, she bare a daughter, and called her name Dina ²² And God remembred Rachel, & God hearde her, and made her fruitefull ²³ So that she conceaued & bare a sonne: and sayde, God hath taken awaye my rebuke ²⁴ And she called his name Ioseph, saying: the Lorde geue me yet another sonne

¹ Nowe as concernyng the thinges wherof ye wrote vnto me, it is good for a man not to touche a woman ² Neuerthelesse, to auoyde fornication, let euery man haue his owne wyfe, and let euery woman haue her owne husband ³ Let the husbande geue vnto the wyfe due beneuolence: Lykewyse also the wyfe vnto the husbande ⁴ The wyfe hath not the power of her owne body, but the husbande: And likewyse also the husbande hath not the power of his owne body, but the wife ⁵ Defraude you not the one the other, except [it be] with both your consentes for a time, that ye may geue your selues to fasting and prayer: and afterward come together againe, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinencie ⁶ This I say of fauour, & not of commaundement ⁷ For I woulde that all men were as I my selfe [am:] but euery man hath his proper gift of God, one after this maner, another after that ⁸ I say therefore vnto them that be vnmaryed and wyddowes, it is good for them if they abyde euen as I ⁹ But if they can not abstayne, let them marrie: For it is better to marrie then to burne ¹⁰ Unto the maryed commaunde, not I, but the Lord, Let not the wyfe depart from the husbande ¹¹ But and if she depart, let her remayne vnmarried, or be reconciled vnto her husbande [againe:] And let not the husbande put away his wyfe ¹² But to the renmaunt speake I, not the Lorde: If any brother haue a wife that beleueth not, if she be content to dwell with him, let him not put her away ¹³ And the woman which hath to her husbande an infidell, and he consent to dwel with her, let her not put him away ¹⁴ For the vnbeleuing husbande is sanctified by the wyfe, and the vnbeleuyng wyfe is sanctified by the husbande: els were your children vncleane, but nowe are they holy ¹⁵ But if the vnbeleuing depart, let hym depart: A brother or a sister is not in subiection in such thinges: But God hath called vs in peace ¹⁶ For howe knowest thou O woman, whether thou shalt saue thy husbande? or how knowest thou O man, whether thou shalt saue thy wyfe ¹⁷ But as God hath distributed to euery man, as the Lorde hath called euery one, so let hym walke, and so ordeyne I in all Churches ¹⁸ Is any man called beyng circumcised? let him not adde vncircumcision: Is any called vncircumcised? let him not be circumcised ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing, and vncircumcision is nothing, but the keping of the commaundementes of God ²⁰ Let euery man abyde in the same calling, wherein he was called ²¹ Art thou called a seruaunt? care not for it: Neuerthelesse, if thou mayest be free, vse it rather ²² For he that is called in the Lord [being] a seruaunt, is the Lordes free man: Lykewyse also he that is called [beyng] free, is Christes seruaunt ²³ Ye are dearely bought, be not ye the seruauntes of men ²⁴ Brethren, let euery man wherin he is called, therin abyde with God ²⁵ Nowe concerning virgins I haue no commaundement of the Lord: yet geue I counsell, as one that hath obtayned mercy in the Lorde to be faythfull ²⁶ I suppose therfore that it is good for the present necessitie: for [I say] it is good for a man so to be ²⁷ Art thou bounde vnto a wife? seke not to be loosed: Art thou loosed from a wyfe? seke not a wyfe ²⁸ But and if thou marrie a wyfe, thou sinnest not, and if a virgin marrie, she hath not sinned: Neuerthelesse, such shall haue trouble in their fleshe, but I beare with you ²⁹ But this say I brethren, the tyme is short: It remayneth, that they which haue wyues, be as though they had none ³⁰ And they that wepe, as though they wept not: & they that reioyce, as though they reioyced not: and they that bye, as though they possessed not ³¹ And they that vse this worlde, as though they vsed it not: For the fashion of this worlde goeth away ³² I woulde haue you without care: He that is vnmaryed, careth for the thinges that belong to the Lorde, how he may please the Lorde ³³ But he that hath maryed awyfe, careth for the thinges that are of the worlde, how he may please his wyfe ³⁴ There is difference betweene a virgin and a wyfe: The vnmaryed woman careth for the thinges that are of the Lorde, that she may be holy both in body and in spirite: [Againe] she that is maryed careth for the thinges that pertayne to the world, how she may please her husbande ³⁵ This speake I for your profite, not to tangle you in a snare: but that [ye may folowe] that which is honest and comely, and that ye may cleaue fast vnto the Lorde without separation ³⁶ But if any man thinke that it is vncomely for his virgin if she passe the time of mariage, and neede so require, let him do what he wyll, he sinneth not: let them be maryed ³⁷ Neuerthelesse, he that purposeth surely in his heart hauing no neede, but hath power ouer his owne wyll, and hath so decreed in his heart that he wyl kepe his virgin, doth well ³⁸ So then he that ioyneth his virgin in maryage, doth well: but he that ioyneth not [his virgin] in mariage, doth better ³⁹ The wyfe is bounde to the lawe as long as her husbande lyueth: but if her husband be dead, she is at libertie to marry with whom she wil, onely in the Lorde ⁴⁰ But she is happier if she so abide, after my iudgement: And I thinke veryly that I haue the spirite of God

¹ Sarai Abrams wyfe bare hym no chyldren: but she had an handemayde an Egyptian, Hagar by name ² And Sarai sayde vnto Abram: beholde, nowe the Lorde hath restrayned me, that I can not beare, I pray thee go in to my mayde, it may be that I may be builded by her: and Abram obeyed the voyce of Sarai ³ And Sarai Abrams wyfe toke Hagar her mayde the Egyptian, after Abram hadde dwelled ten yeres in the lande of Chanaan, and gaue her to her husbande Abram to be his wyfe ⁴ And he went in vnto Hagar, and she conceaued. And when she sawe that she had conceaued, her mistresse was despised in her eyes ⁵ And Sarai sayde vnto Abram: there is wrong done vnto me by thee: I haue geuen my mayde into thy bosome, whiche seyng that she hath conceaued, I am despised in her eyes, the Lorde be iudge betweene thee & me ⁶ But Abram sayde to Sarai: beholde thy mayde is in thy hande, do with her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fledde from the face of her ⁷ And the angel of the Lord founde her beside a fountaine in ye wildernes, [euen] by the well that is in the way to Sur ⁸ And he said: Hagar Sarais mayde, whence camest thou? and whither wylt thou go? She sayde: I flee fro the face of my mistresse Sarai ⁹ And the angell of the Lorde sayde vnto her: Returne to thy mistresse agayne, and submit thy selfe vnder her handes ¹⁰ And agayne the angell of the Lord sayde vnto her: I wyll multiplie thy seede in such sort, that it shal not be numbred for multitude ¹¹ And the Lordes angell said vnto her: See, thou art with chylde, and shalt beare a sonne, and shalt cal his name Ismael: because the Lorde hath hearde thy tribulation ¹² He also wyll be a wylde man, and his hande wyll be agaynst euery man, and euery mans hande against hym: and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren ¹³ And she called the name of the Lorde that spake vnto her, Thou God lokest on me: for she sayde, haue I not also heare loked after hym that seeth mee ¹⁴ Wherfore ye well was called the well of hym that lyueth and seeth me: and it is betweene Cades and Bared ¹⁵ And Hagar bare Abram a sonne, and Abram called his sonnes name which Hagar bare vnto hym, Ismael ¹⁶ And Abram was foure score and sixe yeres olde, when Hagar bare Ismael to hym