Psalms 103:13

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ¹ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ² 

Isaiah 49:15

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ³ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ⁴ 

Even if mothers ⁵  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ⁶ 

Matthew 7:9-11

7:9 Is ⁷  there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ⁸  7:11 If you then, although you are evil, ⁹  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts ¹⁰  to those who ask him!

Luke 11:11-13

11:11 What father among you, if your ¹¹  son asks for ¹²  a fish, will give him a snake ¹³  instead of a fish? 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹⁴  11:13 If you then, although you are ¹⁵  evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit ¹⁶  to those who ask him!”

¹ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

² tn Heb “those who fear him.”

³ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

⁴ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

⁵ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Grk “Or is there.”

⁸ sn The two questions of vv. 9-10 expect the answer, “No parent would do this!”

⁹ tn The participle ὄντες (ontes) has been translated concessively.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

¹² tc Most mss (א A C D L W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy^c,p,h bo) have “bread, does not give him a stone instead, or” before “a fish”; the longer reading, however, looks like a harmonization to Matt 7:9. The shorter reading is thus preferred, attested by Ì^45,75 B 1241 pc sy^s sa.

¹³ sn The snake probably refers to a water snake.

¹⁴ sn The two questions of vv. 11-12 expect the answer, “No father would do this!”

¹⁵ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a concessive participle.

¹⁶ sn The provision of the Holy Spirit is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. Some apply it to the general provision of the Spirit, but this would seem to look only at one request in a context that speaks of repeated asking. The teaching as a whole stresses not that God gives everything his children want, but that God gives the good that they need. The parallel account in Matthew (7:11) refers to good things where Luke mentions the Holy Spirit.