Isaiah 59:11

Isaiah 59:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
• New International Version (NIV)We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
• New King James Version (NKJV)We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.

Context of Isaiah 59:11

9Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us. We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness; We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom. 10We grope for a wall like the blind, We grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; Among those who are healthy we are like dead men. We all groan and growl like bears, And coo sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. 12For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O Lord], And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]: 13Rebelling against and denying the Lord, Turning away from [following] our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words.

Isaiah 59:11 word by word

נֶהֱמֶ֤ה כַדֻּבִּים֙ כֻּלָּ֔נוּ וְכַיּוֹנִ֖ים הָגֹ֣ה נֶהְגֶּ֑ה נְקַוֶּ֤ה לַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ וָאַ֔יִן לִֽישׁוּעָ֖ה רָחֲקָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• We roarהָמָהhâmâh · to roarH1993
• all like bearsדֹּבdôb dôb · bearH1677
• and mournהָגָהhâgâh · to mutterH1897
• like dovesיוֹנָהyônâh · doveH3123
• we lookקָוָהqâvâh · to awaitH6960
• for judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• none; for salvationיְשׁוּעָהyeshû‛âh · salvationH3444
• it is far offרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368

Cross-references for Isaiah 59:11

• Isaiah 51:20Your sons have fainted; They lie helpless at the head of every street, Like an antelope in a net, Full [from drinking] of the wrath of the Lord, The rebuke of your God.
• Psalms 32:3When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all the day long.
• Psalms 38:8I am numb and greatly bruised [deadly cold and completely worn out]; I groan because of the disquiet and moaning of my heart.
• Hosea 7:14They do not cry out to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds [in unbelieving despair]; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves [as if worshiping Baal]; They rebel against Me.
• Isaiah 38:14Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirp; I coo like a dove. My eyes look wistfully upward; O Lord, I am oppressed, take my side and be my security.
• Job 30:28I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun]; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
• Jeremiah 8:15We waited for peace and salvation, but no good came, And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
• Jeremiah 9:1Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
• Ezekiel 7:16Even when their survivors escape, they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each over his [punishment for] sin.
• Psalms 85:9Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder], That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.
• Psalms 119:155Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.

Commentaries on Isaiah 59:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11But it is far off from us "And it is far distant from us" - The conjunction ו vau must necessarily be prefixed to the verb, as the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate found it in their copies; ורחקה verachakah, "and far off."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11We roar all like bears - This is designed still further to describe the heavy judgments which had come upon them for their sins. The word rendered here roar‘ (from המה hâmâh like English, to hum, German, hummen, spoken of bees), is applied to any murmuring, or confused noise or sound. It sometimes means to snarl, as a dog Psalm 59:7, Psalm 59:15; to coo, as a dove Ezekiel 7:16; it is also applied to waves that roar Psalm 46:4; Isaiah 51:15; to a crowd…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 If we shut our eyes against the light of Divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace. The sins of those who profess themselves God's people, are worse than the sins of others. And the sins of a nation bring public judgments, when not restrained by public justice. Men may murmur under calamities, but nothing will truly profit while they reject Christ and his gospel.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-14The people growl and moan with longing for redemption, finally coming to terms with their sinfulness.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. roar--moan plaintively, like a hungry bear which growls for food. doves--(Is 38:14; Eze 7:16). salvation--retribution in kind: because not salvation, but "destruction" was "in their paths" (Is 59:7).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 59:11

• Bear
• Conscience
• Isaiah
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Bear
• Cloke
• Grope
• Heavy
• Iniquity
• Mutter
• Revolt
• Groan
• Isaiah
• Palestine

Commentaries on Isaiah 59

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings