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 thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: 7and when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the day-time, and am set in my ward whole nights: 9and, behold, here cometh a troop of men, horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground. 10O thou my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto 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

• criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
• lionאַרְיֵה'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• continuallyתָּמִידtâmîyd · continuallyH8548
• uponעַל‛al · uponH5921
• watchtowerמִצְפֶּהmitspeh · lookoutH4707
• setנָצַבnâtsab · to standH5324
• wholeכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• nightsלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915

Cross-references for Isaiah 21:8

• Isaiah 5:29their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver.
• Jeremiah 4:7A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
• Jeremiah 25:38He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger.
• Jeremiah 49:19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make him run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?
• Jeremiah 50:44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?
• 1 Peter 5:8Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
• Isaiah 62:6I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are the LORD’S remembrancers, take ye no rest,
• Psalms 63:6When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
• Psalms 127:1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
• Habakkuk 2:1I WILL stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall 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

• 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