Isaiah 49:15

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ¹ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ² 

Even if mothers ³  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ⁴ 

Isaiah 66:13

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ⁵ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

Luke 7:12

7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man ⁶  who had died was being carried out, ⁷  the only son of his mother (who ⁸  was a widow ⁹ ), and a large crowd from the town ¹⁰  was with her.

¹ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

² tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

³ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

⁶ tn Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

⁷ tn That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.

⁸ tn Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.

⁹ sn The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.

¹⁰ tn Or “city.”