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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when Yahweh returns to Zion.
- BSB Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to 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 62:6I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
- Jer 32:39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
- Ezek 33:7So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
- Zech 12:8In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
- Jer 33:11The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
- Isa 30:26Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
- Isa 58:1Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
- Isa 48:20Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
- 1 Cor 1:10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- 1 Cor 13:12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
- Jer 6:17Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
- Isa 40:9O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
- Isa 56:10His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Isa 35:10And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
- Ezek 3:17Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
- Zeph 3:9For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.
- Jer 31:6–7For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
- Song 5:7The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
- Song 3:3The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
- Isa 12:4–6And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
- Isa 27:2In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
- Isa 26:1In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
- Isa 24:14They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
- Acts 4:32And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
- Acts 2:1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
- Acts 2:46–47And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
- Eph 1:17–18That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
- Rev 5:8–10And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
- Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
- Rev 19:4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
- Heb 13:17Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for 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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