Bible Strands
Isaiah 59:11
We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The collective people address God in the midst of a confession of spiritual blindness and multiplied transgressions.
The words — The Hebrew נֶהֱמֶה (ne.he.Meh) literally renders "we growl," while נְקַוֶּה (ne.ka.Veh) means "we wait eagerly" for מִשְׁפָּט (mish.Pat), "justice."
The thread — The dove-moaning motif recurs in Isaiah 38:14 and Ezekiel 7:16, while the desperate plea for deliverance parallels Job 30:28.
Why it lands — The text demands readers acknowledge the gap between their longing for justice and the reality of unaddressed sin, requiring honest self-examination before God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 38:14 I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
- Ezekiel 7:16 The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity.
- Job 30:28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
- Psalms 32:3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
- Psalms 38:8 I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
- Psalms 85:9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.
- Psalms 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked because they do not seek Your statutes.
- Isaiah 51:20 Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.
- Isaiah 59:9 Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
- Jeremiah 8:15 We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.