Proverbs 31:2
in Proverbs 31What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows?
KJV
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
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This verse in Proverbs 31
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWhat, my son? - The Chaldee בר bar is used twice in this verse, instead of the Hebrew בן ben, son. This verse is very elliptical; and commentators, according to their different tastes, have inserted words, indeed some of them a whole sentence, to make up the sense. Perhaps Coverdale has hit the sense as nearly as any other: “These are the wordes of Kynge Lemuel; and the lesson that his mother taughte him.
This site's exposition
These are the words of King Lemuel
on Proverbs 31:1-3
"These are the words of King Lemuel" carry the same honest note as Agur's chapter, a king unknown to history, taught by his mother. Her charge opens on the danger Proverbs has warned against: "Do not spend your strength on women."
This site's exposition
What shall I say, O my son?
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown hear earnestness in the three questions of the mother to her son. Son of my womb marks her affection, and son of my vows a son vowed to God, which the name Lemuel may mean. Clarke calls the verse elliptical.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
What, my beloved; what, beloved of my womb? You understand, "What shall I say to you, my son, who was born from my womb, chosen for the kingdom?"
What, beloved of my vows? That is, who was chosen in this that I desired with all devotion.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
My heart is full, but where shall I begin? Of my womb - My son, not by adoption, but whom I bare in the womb, and therefore it is my duty to give thee admonitions, and thine to receive them. My vows - On whose behalf I have made many prayers and sacrifices, and solemn vows to God; whom I have, as far as in me lay, devoted to the work, and service, and glory of God.
"Thou art devoted to my God; thou art the son of my vows, the son I prayed to God to give me and promised to give back to God, and did so" (thus Samuel was the son of Hannah's vows); "Thou art the son I have often prayed to God to give his grace to ( Ps. lxxii. 1 ), and shall a child of so many prayers miscarry?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
What, my son?.... What shall I call thee? though thou art a king, can I address thee in more suitable language, or use a more endearing appellative than this, and what follows? permit me, thy mother, to speak unto thee as my son: and what shall I say to thee?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
What, my son?--that is, What shall I say? Repetitions denote earnestness. son of my womb--as our phrase, "my own son," a term of special affection. son of my vows--as one dedicated to God; so the word "Lemuel" may mean.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The repetitions are emphatic; expressive of anxious love. Son of my vows - Like Samuel, and Samson, the child often asked for in prayer, the prayer ratified by a vow of dedication. The name Lemuel (literally “for God,” consecrated to Him) may be the expression of that dedication; and the warning against indulging in wine Pro 31:4 shows that it had something of the Nazarite or Rechabite idea in it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The words of Lemuel the king The words of King Solomon, that he said for the Holy One, blessed be He, because he sinned against the Holy One, blessed be He. Lemuel for God, like (Job:4): “to (למו) my mouth.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| בְּ֭רִי | beri | O son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּמַֽה־ | umah- | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| בַּר־ | bar- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בִּטְנִ֑י | bitni | womb my | H990 → | 72 times |
| וּ֝מֶה | umeh | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| בַּר־ | bar- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נְדָרָֽי׃ | nedarai | vows my | H5088 → | 60 times |
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
בְּ֭רִיO son my
beriH1121 →4930 times
וּמַֽה־and what?
umah-H4100 →752 times
בַּר־O son of
bar-H1121 →4930 times
בִּטְנִ֑יwomb my
bitniH990 →72 times
וּ֝מֶהand what?
umehH4100 →752 times
בַּר־O son of
bar-H1121 →4930 times
נְדָרָֽי׃vows my
nedaraiH5088 →60 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 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!
it leads to
- Psalms 103:13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
- Isaiah 44:21
Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.
- Matthew 7:11
So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
- Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
- Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
- Psalms 103:13
Through
1 Samuel 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…
it leads to
- Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
- Numbers 6:5
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let…
- Genesis 29:32
And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Judges 13:5
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.