I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.
Parallel translations
- KJV And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
- BSB I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
- NKJV So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
- NASB I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
- NLT Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!
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
David longs for dove's wings to fly away and find rest. It expresses the human desire to escape unbearable distress.
Overview
Overwhelmed, David wishes he could flee like a bird to peace. The longing for escape is a natural response to crushing trouble. Yet the psalm will move from fleeing to trusting, showing that true rest is found not in escape but in God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ps 11:1For the Chief Musician. By David. In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”
- Rev 12:14Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
- Ps 139:9If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 55:6 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
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