What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Oh, my son! Oh, son of my womb! Oh, son of my vows!
- KJV What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
- NKJV What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?
- NASB ¶What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?
- NLT O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,
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
The mother addresses her son tenderly and urgently, as the child of her womb and her solemn vows.
Overview
The repeated, affectionate cries reveal a mother's deep love and earnest concern for her son's life. "Son of my vows" suggests he was dedicated to God, perhaps consecrated before birth. Her heartfelt appeal models how godly love seeks the spiritual good of those entrusted to us, longing to see them walk in wisdom and the fear of the LORD.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Isa 49:15“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!
- 1 Sam 1:11And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”
- 1 Sam 1:28I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 31:2 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
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