Isaiah 52 · Verse 8

Isaiah 52:8

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.
Isaiah 52:8, King James Version

Isaiah 52:8 in other translations

BSBListen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.
WEBYour watchmen lift up their voice. Together they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD returns to Zion.
ASVThe voice of thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, together do they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when Jehovah returneth to Zion.
YLTThe voice of thy watchmen! They have lifted up the voice, together they cry aloud, Because eye to eye they see, in Jehovah's turning back to Zion.
DARBY— The voice of thy watchmen, they lift up the voice, they sing aloud together; for they shall see eye to eye, when Jehovah shall bring again Zion.
BBEThe voice of your watchmen! their voices are loud in song together; for they will see him, eye to eye, when the Lord comes back to Zion.
WebsterThy 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.

What does Isaiah 52:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
8. watchmen--set on towers separated by intervals to give the earliest notice of the approach of any messenger with tidings (compare Is 21:6-8). The Hebrew is more forcible than English Version, "The voice of thy watchmen" (exclamatory as in So 2:8). "They lift up their voice! together they sing." eye to eye--that is, close at hand, and so clearly [Gesenius]; Nu 14:14, "face to face"; Nu 12:8, "mouth to mouth." Compare 1Co 13:12; Re 22:4, of which Simeon's sight of the Saviour was a prefiguration (Lu 2:30). The watchmen, spiritually, are ministers and others who pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Is 62:6, 7), bring again--that is, restore. Or else, "return to" [Maurer].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 8 Thy watchmen lift up the voice "All thy watchmen lift up their voice" - There is a difficulty in the construction of this place which, I think, none of the ancient versions or modern interpreters have cleared up satisfactorily. Rendered word for word it stands thus: "The voice of thy watchmen: they lift up their voice." The sense of the first member, considered as elliptical, is variously supplied by various expositors; by none, as it seems to me, in any way that is easy and natural. I am persuaded there is a mistake in the present text, and that the true reading is כל צפיך col tsophayich, all thy watchmen, instead of קול צפיך kol tsophayich, the voice of thy watchmen. The mistake was easy from the similitude in sound of the two letters כ caph and ק koph. And in one MS. the ק koph is upon a rasure. This correction perfectly rectifies the sense and the construction. - L. They shall see eye to eye - May not this be applied to the prophets and apostles; the one predicting, and the other discovering in the prediction the truth of the prophecy. The meaning of both Testaments is best understood by bringing them face to face. When the Lord shall bring again Zion "When Jehovah returneth to Zion" - So the Chaldee: כד יתיב שכנתיה לציון cad yethib shechinteih letsiyon, "when he shall place the shechinah in Zion." God is considered as having deserted his people during the captivity; and at the restoration, as returning himself with them to Zion, his former habitation. See Psa 60:1; Isa 40:9, and note.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 52:1-12

The welcome news of Christ's kingdom. (Is. 52:1-12) The humiliation of the Messiah. (Is. 52:13-15) Verses 1-12 The gospel proclaims liberty to those bound with fears. Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin, find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears, and loose themselves from those bands. The price paid by the Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver or gold…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 52:1-12 →

Isaiah 52:8 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ק֥וֹלKol[the] voice ofH6963
צֹפַ֛יִךְtzo.Fa.yikhwatchmen yourH6822
נָ֥שְׂאוּNa.se.'uthey will lift upH5375
ק֖וֹלKola voiceH6963
יַחְדָּ֣וyach.DavtogetherH3162
יְרַנֵּ֑נוּye.ra.Ne.nuthey will shout for joyH7442
כִּ֣יkiforH3588
עַ֤יִן'A.yineyeH5869
בְּעַ֙יִן֙be.'A.yinin eyeH5869
יִרְא֔וּyir.'Uthey will seeH7200
בְּשׁ֥וּבbe.Shuvwhen returnsH7725
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
צִיּֽוֹן\׃tzi.YonZionH6726

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 52:8

  • Isaiah 62:6

    I 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,

  • Jeremiah 32:39

    And 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:

  • Ezekiel 33:7

    So 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.

  • Zephaniah 3:9

    For 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.

  • Isaiah 30:26

    Moreover 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.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:12

    For 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.

  • Isaiah 56:10

    His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:10

    Now 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.

  • Jeremiah 33:11

    The 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.

  • Ezekiel 3:17

    Son 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.

  • Isaiah 35:10

    And 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.

  • Isaiah 40:9

    O 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!

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Thy.
56:10; 62:6; So 3:3; 5:7; Jer 6:17; 31:6,7; Eze 3:17; 33:7; Heb 13:17
lift.
24:14; 40:9; 58:1
with.
12:4-6; 26:1; 27:2; 35:10; 48:20; Jer 33:11; Ac 2:46,47; Re 5:8-10
Re 18:20; 19:4
see.
30:26; Jer 32:39; Zep 3:9; Zec 12:8; Ac 2:1; 4:32; 1Co 1:10; 13:12
Eph 1:17,18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 52:7

    How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

  • Isaiah 52:8

    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.

  • Isaiah 52:9

    Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

Read all of Isaiah 52

Isaiah 52:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¡Voz de tus atalayas! alzarán la voz, juntamente darán voces de júbilo; porque ojo á ojo verán que Jehová vuelve á traer á Sión.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		La voix de tes sentinelles! – elles élèvent la voix, elles exultent ensemble avec chant de triomphe; car elles verront face à face, quand l’ Éternel restaurera Sion.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Stimme deiner Wächter! Sie erheben die Stimme, sie jauchzen insgesamt; denn Auge in Auge sehen sie, wie Jehova Zion wiederbringt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Vox speculatorum tuorum: levaverunt vocem, simul laudabunt, quia oculo ad oculum videbunt cum converterit Dominus Sion.