Proverbs 31:2
What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?
BSB
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?
What, 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.
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.
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.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
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!
leads to
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
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.
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!
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…
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
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…
leads to
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…
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…
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.”