English Standard Version
Isaiah 21:8
8Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then the watchman called out, “Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post.
Context of Isaiah 21:8
6For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees. 7When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently." 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. 9And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground." 10O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you.
Read all of Isaiah 21Isaiah 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, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 25:38Like a lion he has left his lair, for their land has become a waste because of the sword of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger."
- Jeremiah 49:19Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
- Jeremiah 50:44"Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
- 1 Peter 5:8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Isaiah 62:6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest,
- Psalms 63:6when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
- Psalms 127:1Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
- Habakkuk 2:1I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning 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
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries