Isaiah 21:8

Isaiah 21:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
• New International Version (NIV)And the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night.

Context of Isaiah 21:8

6For the Lord has said to me, “Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees. 7When he sees riders — pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels — he must pay close attention.” Then the lookout reported, “Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night. 9Look, riders come — horsemen in pairs.” And he answered, saying, “Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the images of her gods have been shattered on the ground.” 10My people who have been crushed on the threshing floor, I have declared to you what I have heard from the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 21:8 word by word

וַיִּקְרָ֖א אַרְיֵ֑ה עַל־מִצְפֶּ֣ה׀ אֲדֹנָ֗י אָנֹכִ֞י עֹמֵ֤ד תָּמִיד֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְעַל־מִ֨שְׁמַרְתִּ֔י אָנֹכִ֥י נִצָּ֖ב כָּל־הַלֵּילֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
• A lionאַרְיֵה'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• My lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• I standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• continuallyתָּמִידtâmîyd · continuallyH8548
• upon the watchtowerמִצְפֶּהmitspeh · lookoutH4707
• in the daytimeיוֹמָםyômâm · by dayH3119
• and I am setנָצַבnâtsab · to standH5324
• in my wardמִשְׁמֶ֫רֶתmishmereth · chargeH4931
• whole nightsלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915

Cross-references for Isaiah 21:8

• Isaiah 5:29Their roaring is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry it off, and no one can rescue it.
• Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to make your land a waste. Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.
• Jeremiah 25:38He has left his den like a lion, for their land has become a desolation because of the sword of the oppressor, because of his burning anger.
• Jeremiah 49:19“Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me? Who will issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?”
• Jeremiah 50:44“Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Babylon away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me? Who will issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?”
• 1 Peter 5:8Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.
• Isaiah 62:6Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen on your walls; they will never be silent, day or night. There is no rest for you, who remind the Lord.
• Psalms 63:6When I think of you as I lie on my bed, I meditate on you during the night watches
• Psalms 127:1Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.
• Habakkuk 2:1I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.

Commentaries on Isaiah 21:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8And he cried, A lion "He that looked out on the watch" - The present reading, אריה aryeh, a lion, is so unintelligible, and the mistake so obvious, that I make no doubt that the true reading is הראה haroeh, the seer; as the Syriac translator manifestly found it in his copy, who renders it by דקוא duka, a watchman.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8And he cried, A lion - Margin, As a lion.‘ This is the correct rendering. The particle כ (k ) - as,‘ is not unfrequently omitted (see Isaiah 62:5; Psalm 11:1). That is, I see them approach with the fierceness, rapidity, and terror of a lion (compare Revelation 10:3). My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower - This is the speech of the watchman, and is addressed, not to Yahweh, but to him that appointed him. It is designed to show the “diligence”…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. A lion--rather, "(The watchman) cried, I am as a lion"; so as is understood (Is 62:5; Psa 11:1). The point of comparison to "a lion" is in Re 10:3, the loudness of the cry. But here it is rather his vigilance. The lion's eyelids are short, so that, even when asleep, he seems to be on the watch, awake; hence he was painted on doors of temples as the symbol of watchfulness, guarding the place (Hor. Apollo) [Horsley].Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 21:8

• Babylon
• Isaiah
• Persia
• Watchman

In the dictionaries

• Anoint
• Cornfloor
• Ward
• Watches
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Hezekiah (2)
• Isaiah
• Watch-Tour
• Babel

Commentaries on Isaiah 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings