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 this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Go, post a guard! He must report what he sees. 7When he sees chariots, teams of horses, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, very alert.” Then the guard cries out: “On the watchtower, O sovereign master, I stand all day long; at my post I am stationed every night. 9Look what’s coming! A charioteer, a team of horses.” When questioned, he replies, “Babylon has fallen, fallen! All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!” 10O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.

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 roar is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
• Jeremiah 4:7Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.
• Jeremiah 25:38The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair. So their lands will certainly be laid waste by the warfare of the oppressive nation and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”
• Jeremiah 49:19“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Edomites off their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me, and there is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler who can stand up against me.
• Jeremiah 50:44“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me. There is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler that can stand up against me.
• 1 Peter 5:8Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.
• Isaiah 56:10All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze.
• Isaiah 62:6I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don’t be silent!
• Psalms 63:6whenever I remember you on my bed, and think about you during the nighttime hours.
• Psalms 127:1If the Lord does not build a house, then those who build it work in vain. If the Lord does not guard a city, then the watchman stands guard in vain.
• Habakkuk 2:1I will stand at my watch post; I will remain stationed on the city wall. I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me and can know how I should answer when he counters my argument.

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