שְׂבֵעִ֤ים בַּלֶּ֙חֶם֙ נִשְׂכָּ֔רוּ וּרְעֵבִ֖ים חָדֵ֑לּוּ עַד־עֲקָרָה֙ יָלְדָ֣ה שִׁבְעָ֔ה וְרַבַּ֥ת בָּנִ֖ים אֻמְלָֽלָה׃
素來飽足的，反倒為糧食受僱；素來飢餓的，卻不再勞苦。甚至不能生育的生了七個，兒女眾多的反倒衰殘。
On the Unchangeableness of God
[10] Indeed of the nature of the soul beloved of God no clearer evidence can we have than that psalm of Hannah which contains the words “the barren hath borne seven, but she that had many children hath languished” (1 Sam. 2:5).
On the Change of Names
[143] Again, some ask whether the barren can bear children, since the oracles earlier describe Sarah as barren and now admit that she will become a mother. Our answer to this must be that it is not in the nature of a barren woman to bear, any more than of the blind to see or of the deaf to hear. But as for the soul which is sterilized to wickedness and unfruitful of the endless host of passions and vices, scarce any prosper in childbirth as she. For she bears offspring worthy of love, even the number seven according to the hymn of Hannah, that is, grace, who says “The barren hath borne seven, but she that is much in children hath languished” (1 Sam. 2:5).