Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night.
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:
- BSB Then the lookout shouted: “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; night after night I stay at my post.
- 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 watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Jer 50:44Behold, the enemy will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it. Whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it; for who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?”
- Isa 5:29Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver.
- Isa 62:6I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,
- Isa 56:10His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Ps 63:6when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches.
- Ps 127:1A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
- Jer 25:38He has left his covert, as the lion; for their land has become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppression, and because of his fierce anger.
- Jer 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he has gone out from his place, to make your land desolate, that your cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
- Jer 49:19“Behold, he will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it. For who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who will stand before me?”
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 21:8 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.