1 Kings 3:26

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!”

Isaiah 49:15

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ⁴ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ⁵ 

Even if mothers ⁶  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ⁷ 

Isaiah 66:13

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ⁸ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

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 Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

⁵ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

⁶ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

⁷ sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.

⁸ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”