Isaiah 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ¹  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ² 

O sovereign master, ³  I am oppressed;

help me! ⁴ 

Isaiah 59:11

59:11 We all growl like bears,

we coo mournfully like doves;

we wait for deliverance, ⁵  but there is none,

for salvation, but it is far from us.

Luke 23:27

23:27 A great number of the people followed him, among them women ⁶  who were mourning ⁷  and wailing for him.

Luke 23:48

23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁸ 

¹ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

² tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

⁴ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

⁵ tn See the note at v. 9.

⁶ sn The background of these women is disputed. Are they “official” mourners of Jesus’ death, appointed by custom to mourn death? If so, the mourning here would be more pro forma. However, the text seems to treat the mourning as sincere, so their tears and lamenting would have been genuine.

⁷ tn Or “who were beating their breasts,” implying a ritualized form of mourning employed in Jewish funerals. See the note on the term “women” earlier in this verse.

⁸ sn Some apparently regretted what had taken place. Beating their breasts was a sign of lamentation.