In the Bible, sighs are often expressions of deep emotion, ranging from sorrow and grief to longing and relief. The act of sighing is a natural human response to various circumstances and is mentioned in several contexts throughout Scripture. Sighs can be seen as a form of non-verbal communication with God, reflecting the inner turmoil or desires of the heart.

Old Testament References

In the Old Testament, sighing is frequently associated with suffering and oppression. For instance, in Exodus 2:23, the Israelites, under the heavy burden of Egyptian slavery, "groaned and cried out" to God for deliverance. Their sighs were a testament to their affliction and a plea for divine intervention. The Berean Standard Bible states, "After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God."

The book of Job also provides insight into the nature of sighs as an expression of personal anguish. Job, in his suffering, speaks of his sighing as a constant companion: "For my sighing comes before my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water" (Job 3:24). Here, sighs are depicted as an involuntary response to intense personal distress.

Prophetic Literature

In the prophetic books, sighs often symbolize the lamentation over sin and impending judgment. Ezekiel is instructed to "sigh with a broken heart and bitter grief" as a sign to the people of Israel regarding the coming judgment (Ezekiel 21:6-7). This prophetic act serves as a warning and a call to repentance, highlighting the seriousness of their spiritual condition.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, sighs continue to convey deep emotional and spiritual realities. Jesus Himself is described as sighing in response to the unbelief and spiritual blindness of the people. In Mark 7:34, before healing a deaf and mute man, Jesus "looked up to heaven and sighed deeply" . This sigh reflects His compassion and the weight of the brokenness He encountered in the world.

The Apostle Paul, in his epistles, uses the concept of sighing to describe the groaning of creation and believers as they await redemption. In Romans 8:22-23, Paul writes, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" . Here, sighs are linked to the hope and anticipation of future glory and restoration.

Spiritual Significance

Sighs in the biblical narrative often serve as a bridge between human frailty and divine strength. They are a reminder of the limitations of human expression and the need for God's intervention. In moments of deep distress or longing, sighs can be seen as a form of prayer, an unspoken cry for help that God hears and understands. As such, they hold a significant place in the spiritual life of believers, reflecting both the reality of human suffering and the hope of divine comfort and deliverance.

Sighs
... Book First CLXXXIV SIGHS. Sighs"whether swift to Heaven they rise As morning
gilds the skies". ... In Heaven accounts of sighs are kept,. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/palgrave/the treasury of sacred song/clxxxiv sighs.htm

A Few Sighs from Hell;
... A Few Sighs From Hell; or, The Groans of the Damned Soul: ... JOHN BUNYAN. A Few Sighs
from Hell; OR. The Groans of a Damned Soul.. Luke 16:19-31. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a few sighs from hell.htm

The Sighs of Christ
... SERMON XXV. THE SIGHS OF CHRIST. (Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.) Mark
7:34, 35. And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto ...
/.../kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xxv the sighs of.htm

Seven Sanctified Thoughts and Mournful Sighs of a Sick Man Ready ...
... THE PRACTICE OF PIETY. SEVEN SANCTIFIED THOUGHTS AND MOURNFUL SIGHS OF A
SICK MAN READY TO DIE. Now, forasmuch as God of his infinite ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/seven sanctified thoughts and mournful.htm

O Love Divine, My Spirit Sighs
... COMMUNION VO Love divine, my spirit sighs. 8,8,8,8. O Love divine, my spirit sighs.
To dwell with Thee and share Thy love; But Thou art far beyond the skies,. ...
/.../brownlie/hymns of the russian church/v o love divine my.htm

Creation's Groans and the Saints' Sighs
... Creation's Groans and the Saints' Sighs. A Sermon ... Our sighs are sacred things; these
griefs and sighs are too hallowed for us to tell abroad in the streets. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 14 1868/creations groans and the saints.htm

Introduction
... "The Spirit himself more than intercedes with God in sighs unspeakable and He that
searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because His ...
//christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen on prayer/chapter one introduction.htm

Submission.
... I saw them in the distance slowly fade; Then sighs of sorrow in my soul
would rise,. ... Then sighs of sorrow in my soul would rise,. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/borthwick/hymns from the land of luther/submission 2.htm

The Torments of Giant Bad Feelings
... Sunshine? It is said she used to be sad, broken-hearted, fearful, and
despondent, and that she lived long in the Valley of Sighs. ...
/.../berry/adventures in the land of canaan/chapter ten the torments of.htm

The Sympathy of the Two Worlds
... "I feel at my heart all thy sighs and thy groans,. ... Thy sighs are his sighs;
thy groans are his groans; thy prayers are his prayers:". ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/the sympathy of the two.htm

Sighs (3 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Sighs (3 Occurrences). Romans 8:26 In the same way, the
Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don't know how to pray as we ought. ...
/s/sighs.htm - 7k

Sigh (18 Occurrences)
... 4. (vt) To exhale (the breath) in sighs. 5. (vt) To utter sighs over; to lament
or mourn over. 6. (vt) To express by sighs; to utter in or with sighs. ...
/s/sigh.htm - 12k

Sighing (22 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Sigh. 2. (a.) Uttering sighs;
grieving; lamenting. Multi-Version Concordance Sighing (22 Occurrences). ...
/s/sighing.htm - 13k

Groans (9 Occurrences)
... sinned; therefore she is become as an unclean thing; all who honored her despise
her, because they have seen her nakedness: yes, she sighs, and turns backward. ...
/g/groans.htm - 8k

Grievously (17 Occurrences)
... sinned; therefore she is become as an unclean thing; all who honored her despise
her, because they have seen her nakedness: yes, she sighs, and turns backward. ...
/g/grievously.htm - 14k

Three (5005 Occurrences)
... No one in a burning furnace could pray as Azarias does. There are no groans or
sighs, nor prayer for help or deliverance of a personal nature. ...
/t/three.htm - 18k

Devout (13 Occurrences)
... pious; reverent; religious. 2. (vt) Expressing devotion or piety; as, eyes
devout; sighs devout; a devout posture. 3. (vt) Warmly ...
/d/devout.htm - 11k

Filthy (22 Occurrences)
... sinned; therefore she is become as an unclean thing; all who honored her despise
her, because they have seen her nakedness: yes, she sighs, and turns backward. ...
/f/filthy.htm - 16k

Backward (39 Occurrences)
... sinned; therefore she is become as an unclean thing; all who honored her despise
her, because they have seen her nakedness: yes, she sighs, and turns backward. ...
/b/backward.htm - 18k

Transgressions (64 Occurrences)
... Lamentations 1:22 Let all their wickedness come before you; Do to them, as you have
done to me for all my transgressions: For my sighs are many, and my heart ...
/t/transgressions.htm - 27k

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