Translations
Then I said, "Oh, if only I had wings like a dove.
I would take flight and finally rest."
And I said, "O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest."
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
Footnotes
The verb eshkonah (I would rest/settle/dwell, from shakan) shares its root with mishkan—the tabernacle, the sacred dwelling-place of God among His people. In the very longing to flee, the psalmist unwittingly reaches for the language of sacred dwelling: he yearns not merely for safety but for a place to abide. This irony deepens the pathos—the one who should find his shakan-rest in God's presence is instead fantasising about the wilderness. F.O.G preserves 'find rest' to keep the spatial resonance; F.O.G.M 'finally rest' emphasises the desperation of prolonged suffering.
