Isaiah 59:11
Context59:11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance, 1 but there is none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
Isaiah 5:29-30
Context5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
5:30 At that time 2 they will growl over their prey, 3
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. 4
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness. 5
2 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
3 tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”
5 tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”
sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).