Isaiah 21:8

8 and he cried, A lion upon the watchman. My lord, I stand continually all the day and all night long upon my watchtower.

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 thus has the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman who shall declare what he sees.

7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; then he looked with more diligence;

8 and he cried, A lion upon the watchman. My lord, I stand continually all the day and all night long upon my watchtower.

9 And, behold, this chariot of men comes with a couple of horsemen. Afterwards he spoke and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he has broken unto the ground.

10 O my harvest, and the people of my threshing floor, that which I have heard of the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared unto you.