Isaiah 28:9

28:9 Who is the Lord ¹  trying to teach?

To whom is he explaining a message? ² 

Those just weaned from milk!

Those just taken from their mother’s breast! ³ 

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 

[28:9]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:9]  ² tn Heb “Who is he teaching knowledge? For whom is he explaining a message?” The translation assumes that the Lord is the subject of the verbs “teaching” and “explaining,” and that the prophet is asking the questions. See v. 12. According to some vv. 9-10 record the people’s sarcastic response to the Lord’s message through Isaiah.

[28:9]  ³ tn Heb “from the breasts.” The words “their mother’s” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation assumes that this is the prophet’s answer to the questions asked in the first half of the verse. The Lord is trying to instruct people who are “infants” morally and ethically.

[49:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

[49:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

[49:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

[49:15]  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.