Isaiah 59:11

11 We all growl like bears. We coo like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none. We hope for salvation, but it's far from us.

Isaiah 59:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 59:11

We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves
Some in a more noisy and clamorous, others in a stiller way, yet all in private: for the bear, when robbed of its whelps, goes to its den and roars; and the dove, when it has lost its mate, mourns in solitude: this expresses the secret groanings of the saints under a sense of sin, and the forlorn state of religion. The Targum paraphrases it thus,

``we roar because of our enemies, who are gathered against us as bears; all of us indeed mourn sore as doves:''

we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far
from us;
we expect that God will take vengeance on our enemies, and save us; look for judgment on antichrist, and the antichristian states, and for the salvation of the church of God; for the vials of divine wrath on the one, and for happy times to the other; but neither of them as yet come; the reason of which is as follows.

Isaiah 59:11 In-Context

9 That is why justice is far from us, and righteousness doesn't reach us. We hope for light, but we walk in darkness. We hope for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10 We grope like blind men along a wall. We grope like people without eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. We are like dead people among healthy people.

11 We all growl like bears. We coo like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none. We hope for salvation, but it's far from us.

12 You are aware of our many rebellious acts. Our sins testify against us. Our rebellious acts are with us. We know our wrongdoings.

13 We have rebelled and denied the LORD. We have turned away from our God. We have spoken about oppression and revolt. We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.