All of us growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.
Parallel translations
- WEB We 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.
- 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.
- BSB We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us.
- 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.
- 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.
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
They moan and roar in distress, looking for justice and salvation but finding none. Their longing exposes a need they cannot meet themselves.
Overview
The people compare themselves to growling bears and mourning doves as they wait for justice and salvation that remain far off. Their cry expresses genuine desperation under the weight of sin. This unfulfilled longing sets the stage for God's own intervention, anticipating the salvation He alone provides through the coming Redeemer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 38:14I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security.”
- 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.
- Isa 59:9Therefore is justice far from us, and righteousness doesn’t overtake us. We look for light, but see darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
- Ps 32:3–4When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
- Job 30:28–29I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
- Ps 85:9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
- Ps 119:155Salvation is far from the wicked, for they don’t seek your statutes.
- Ps 38:8I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.
- Jer 8:15We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
- Isa 51:20Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the Yahweh’s wrath, the rebuke of your God.
- Jer 9:1Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
- Hos 7:14They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 59:11 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.