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 59:3

59:3 For your hands are stained with blood

and your fingers with sin;

your lips speak lies,

your tongue utters malicious words.

[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.