Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!
- BSB “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
- NKJV “Cana woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
- NASB “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
- NLT “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God assures Zion that even if a nursing mother could forget her child, He will never forget His people.
Overview
God answers Zion's lament with one of Scripture's tenderest images of love, surpassing even a mother's instinct for her infant. His covenant commitment is more certain than the deepest human bond. This unforgetting love is secured for believers in Christ, from whose love nothing can separate them (Romans 8:38-39).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 103:13Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
- Isa 44:21Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
- Matt 7:11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
- Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
- Hos 11:1When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
- Mal 3:17And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
- Lam 4:10The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- 1 Kgs 3:26–27Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
- 2 Kgs 6:28–29And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
- 2 Kgs 11:1–2And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
- Rom 11:28–29As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
- Lam 4:3Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
- Deut 28:56–57The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
- Rom 1:31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
- Lev 26:29And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 49:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.