1 Kings 3:26-27

3:26 The real mother ¹  spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. ²  She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!” ³  But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!” 3:27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.”

Psalms 103:13

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ⁴ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ⁵ 

Malachi 3:17

3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ⁶  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Matthew 7:11

7:11 If you then, although you are evil, ⁷  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts ⁸  to those who ask him!

¹ tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”

² tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”

³ tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.

⁴ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

⁵ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

⁶ sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.

⁷ tn The participle ὄντες (ontes) has been translated concessively.

⁸ sn The provision of the good gifts is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. The teaching as a whole stresses not that we get everything we want, but that God gives the good that we need.