Then the lookout shouted: “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; night after night I stay at my post.
Parallel translations
- WEB He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post.
- 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:
- 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.
- NASB Then the lookout called, “Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower, And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
- 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.
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 cries out that he stands faithfully at his post day and night. It matters because it pictures the steadfast vigilance God's servants are to keep.
Overview
With a lion-like cry the watchman affirms his constant readiness on the tower, never abandoning his station. His unwavering vigilance models faithful endurance in awaiting God's word. The image commends perseverance and alertness in the LORD's service. It anticipates the decisive report about to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Hab 2:1–2I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected.
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Jer 50:44Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
- Isa 5:29Their roaring is like that of a lion; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they carry it away from deliverance.
- Isa 62:6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
- Isa 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Ps 63:6When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night.
- Ps 127:1A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Jer 25:38He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
- Jer 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and lie uninhabited.
- Jer 49:19Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
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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 21:8 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.