Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; Undertake for me!
Parallel translations
- WEB I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security.”
- KJV Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
- BSB 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.”
- NASB “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the heights; Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.
- NLT Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hezekiah moans like a bird and dove, then cries for the Lord to be his security. In weakness he casts himself wholly on God.
Overview
Overcome and weak-eyed from looking upward, the king pleads with the Lord to undertake for him. His cry be my security entrusts his fate entirely to God. This turn from lament to dependence shows faith reaching out to God as the only sure refuge in extremity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 59:11We all roar like bears, and moan bitterly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
- Ps 69:3I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
- Nah 2:7It is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her servants moan as with the voice of doves, beating on their breasts.
- Ps 119:122–123Ensure your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me.
- Job 30:29I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
- Ezek 7:16But those of those who escape will escape, and will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, everyone in his iniquity.
- Ps 123:1–4A Song of Ascents. To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens.
- Lam 4:17Our eyes still fail, looking in vain for our help: In our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save.
- Ps 102:4–7My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.
- Job 17:3“Now give a pledge, be collateral for me with yourself. Who is there who will strike hands with me?
- Ps 143:7Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
- Ps 119:82My eyes fail for your word. I say, “When will you comfort me?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 38:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.