Isaiah 21:8

8 Then [the] {watchman} called, "Lord, I [am] standing on [the] watchtower continually by day, and I [am] standing at my post {throughout} the night.

Isaiah 21:8 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 21:8

And he cried, a lion
That is, the watchman cried, a lion, or that he saw a lion; not Uriah the priest, as the Septuagint; nor Habakkuk, as some Jewish writers; but Cyrus, at the head of the Persian and Median armies, compared to a lion for his fierceness, courage, and strength; see ( 2 Timothy 4:17 ) a type of Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, by whom antichrist, or mystical Babylon, will be destroyed, ( Revelation 5:5 ) . The Targum is,

``the prophet said, the voice of armies, coming with coats of mail, as a lion.''

Aben Ezra interprets it, the watchman cried as a lion, with a great voice; upon sight of the chariots and horsemen, he lifted up his voice, and roared like a lion, to express the terror he was in, and the greatness of the calamity that was coming upon the city. I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime:
so that nothing could escape his notice: and I am set in my ward whole nights:
which expresses his diligence, vigilance, and constancy, in the discharge of his duty; and therefore what he said he saw might be depended on.

Isaiah 21:8 In-Context

6 For the Lord said this to me: "Go, set [a] watchman in position. He must announce what he sees.

7 When he sees riders, a pair of horsemen, riders of donkeys, riders of camels, {then} he must listen attentively, paying attention, paying {special} attention."

8 Then [the] {watchman} called, "Lord, I [am] standing on [the] watchtower continually by day, and I [am] standing at my post {throughout} the night.

9 And look [at] this! A man's a chariot [is] coming, a pair of horsemen!" Then he responded and said, "It has fallen! Babylon has fallen! And all the images of her gods are smashed on the ground!"

10 My downtrodden people and the son of my threshing floor, I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "And"
• [b]. Literally "lion"