New International Version
Isaiah 59:11
11We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
Context of Isaiah 59:11
9So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. 10Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead. We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. 12For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: 13rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
Read all of Isaiah 59Isaiah 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 children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God.
- Psalms 32:3When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
- Psalms 38:8I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
- Hosea 7:14They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me.
- Isaiah 38:14I cried like a swift or thrush, I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens. I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”
- Job 30:28I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
- Jeremiah 8:15We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.
- Jeremiah 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
- Ezekiel 7:16The fugitives who escape will flee to the mountains. Like doves of the valleys, they will all moan, each for their own sins.
- Psalms 85:9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
- Psalms 119:155Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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