The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
Parallel translations
- WEB The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again.”
- BSB The watchman replies, “Morning has come, but also the night. If you would inquire, then inquire. Come back yet again.”
- NKJV The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!”
- NASB The watchman says, “Morning comes but also night. If you would inquire, inquire; Come back again.”
- NLT The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The watchman answers that morning comes, but night too; ask again if you will. It matters because it offers only partial, sobering hope and a call to keep seeking.
Overview
The reply that 'morning comes, and also the night' suggests relief mingled with continued darkness for Edom. The ambiguous answer withholds easy comfort and invites further inquiry: 'Come back again.' It reflects the limited hope held out to a nation under God's hand. The verse cautions against presuming on deliverance and urges persistent seeking.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Acts 17:30–32And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
- Acts 2:37–38Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
- Ezek 14:1–6Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
- Ezek 18:30–32Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
- Isa 55:7Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
- Ezek 7:10Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
- Ezek 7:5–7Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.
- Jer 42:19–22The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
- Isa 17:14And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
- Ezek 7:12The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
- Acts 17:19–20And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
- Jer 50:27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 21:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.