What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Oh, my son! Oh, son of my womb! Oh, son of my vows!
- BSB What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O 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 49:15Can 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.
- 1 Sam 1:11And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
- 1 Sam 1:28Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
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.