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 50:5

50:5 The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly; ⁵ 

I have not rebelled,

I have not turned back.

Isaiah 51:15

51:15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!

[49:15]  ¹ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

[49:15]  ² tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

[49:15]  ³ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

[49:15]  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.

[50:5]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “makes me obedient.” The text reads literally, “has opened for me an ear.”