Then you shall say in your heart, “Who bore these for me, since I have lost my children and am barren, a captive and a wanderer? And who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?”
Who among you fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His servant, who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely upon his God.
Sing, O barren, you who did not bear a child. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who did not travail with child. For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the Lord.
From on high He has sent fire into my bones, and it prevailed against them; He has spread a net for my feet; He turned me back; He has made me desolate and faint all the day long.
Now in those days, as the disciples were multiplied, there was murmuring among the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily distribution.
Peter rose up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.