Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.
Parallel translations
- WEB Your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when Yahweh returns to Zion.
- KJV Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
- NKJV Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the Lord brings back Zion.
- NASB Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the Lord restores Zion.
- NLT The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.
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
Zion's watchmen shout for joy, singing together, for they will see with their own eyes the LORD returning to Zion.
Overview
The city's watchmen lift their voices in unison, rejoicing because they witness God's return to His people 'eye to eye,' a vivid picture of His near and visible presence. The promise of God coming back to dwell with Zion is central to Isaiah's hope. It is fulfilled as God comes to His people in Christ, Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23; John 1:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 31
- 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,
- Jer 32:39I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
- Ezek 33:7As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
- Zech 12:8On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.
- Jer 33:11the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.
- Isa 30:26The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.
- Isa 58:1“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Isa 48:20Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
- 1 Cor 1:10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.
- 1 Cor 13:12Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
- Jer 6:17I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’
- Isa 40:9Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
- 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.
- Isa 35:10So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
- Ezek 3:17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
- Zeph 3:9For then I will restore pure lips to the peoples, that all may call upon the name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
- Jer 31:6–7For there will be a day when watchmen will call out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Arise, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God!’”
- Song 5:7I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city. They beat me and bruised me; they took away my cloak, those guardians of the walls.
- Song 3:3I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city: “Have you seen the one I love?”
- Isa 12:4–6and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.
- Isa 27:2In that day: “Sing about a fruitful vineyard.
- Isa 26:1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
- Isa 24:14They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.
- Acts 4:32The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.
- Acts 2:1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
- Acts 2:46–47With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,
- Eph 1:17–18that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
- Rev 5:8–10When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
- Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
- Rev 19:4And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
- Heb 13:17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.
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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 52:8 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
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