the Week of Proper 23 / Ordinary 28
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Updated Bible Version
Isaiah 21:12
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- DailyParallel Translations
The watchman says,"Morning comes but also night.If you would inquire, inquire;Come back again."
The watchman says, "Morning comes but also night. If you would inquire, inquire; Come back again."
The watchman sayde, The mornyng commeth, and so doth the nyght: If ye wyll aske me any question, then aske it: returne and come agayne.
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire; return, come.
The watchman said, "The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!"
The watchman says, The morning comes, and also night. If you would inquire, inquire. Come! Return!
The guard answered, "Morning is coming, but then night will come again. If you have something else to ask, then come back later and ask."
The watchman said, "The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again."
The watchman sayd; The morning commeth, and also the night: if yee will enquire, enquire yee: returne, come.
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
The watchman answered: The daye breaketh on, and the night is comynge: Yf youre request be earnest, then axe, and come agayne.
The watchman says, "The morning comes [only briefly], but also [comes] the night [of Babylonian oppression]. If you would ask [of me then], ask [again, if Edom really wishes to know]; Come back again."
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: turn ye, come.
The watchman says, The morning has come, but night is still to come: if you have questions to put, put them, and come back again.
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.
The watchman answers, "Morning is coming, but then night will come again. If you have something to ask, then come back and ask."
The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but then night. If you want to ask, ask; come back again."
From my guard post, I answered, "Morning will soon be here, but night will return. If you want to know more, come back later."
The watchman answers: "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again!"
The watchman saide, The morning commeth, and also the night. If yee will aske, enquire: returne and come.
The watchman says, The morning comes, and also the night; if you will inquire, inquire; you will come back again.
The watchman said, "The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again."
The watchman said: 'The morning cometh, and also the night--if ye will inquire, inquire ye; return, come.'
The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask."
The watchman says, "The morning comes, but also the night. If you have questions to ask, ask them, and come back again."
I watch in the morning and the night: if thou wouldest enquire, enquire, and dwell by me.
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: turn ye, come.
The watchman replies, "Morning has come, but also the night. If you would inquire, then inquire! Come back yet again."
The sentinel says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
Said the watchman, There cometh a morning. But also a night, - If ye will enquire, enquire, ye - Come, again!
The watchman said: The morning cometh, also the night: if you seek, seek: return, come.
The watchman says, "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
The watchman says, "Morning comes but also night. If you would inquire, inquire; Come back again."
I answer, "Morning is coming, but night will come again. If you want to ask again, come back and ask."
The watchman said, "Morning has come, and also night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again."
The kepere seide, Morewtid cometh, and niyt; if ye seken, seke ye, and be ye conuertid, and `come ye.
The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
The watchman hath said, `Come hath morning, and also night, If ye inquire, inquire ye, turn back, come.'
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
The morning: Isaiah 17:14, Jeremiah 50:27, Ezekiel 7:5-7, Ezekiel 7:10, Ezekiel 7:12
if: Isaiah 55:7, Jeremiah 42:19-22, Ezekiel 14:1-6, Ezekiel 18:30-32, Acts 2:37, Acts 2:38, Acts 17:19, Acts 17:20, Acts 17:30-32
Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 18:24 - the watchman 2 Kings 9:17 - a watchman Song of Solomon 3:3 - watchmen Ezekiel 3:17 - a watchman Amos 1:11 - Edom Habakkuk 2:1 - stand Romans 13:11 - knowing
Cross-References
And God said, No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son; and you shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year.
And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah should nurse sons? For I have borne him a son in his old age.
And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
And Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they haven't rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.
Now therefore listen to their voice: nevertheless you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not [yet] done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;
even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall your seed be called:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The watchman said, the morning cometh, and also the night,.... Not only a morning, but a night; and as sure as the morning comes, so shall the night; there wilt be a constant succession of morning and night; as a morning of prosperity, so a night of adversity: the morning of the Gospel dispensation was coming on, or of Christ's coming in the flesh, which was attended with joy and cheerfulness; like the morning, it dispersed the shadows of the law, introduced light, which gradually and irresistibly spread itself over the Gentile world; but then followed a night of darkness to the Jews, blindness happened to them, which still continues; and to the Arabians, Saracens, and Turks, when the bottomless pit was opened by Mahomet, which let out smoke and locusts in the eastern part of the world; and to the western part, when the Romish antichrist established himself as universal bishop: a morning came on again at the Reformation, and a night will follow, which is now begun; it is already a time of darkness, coldness, sleepiness, and of error and heresy, which will issue in an eventide, in a dark night: if it be asked what time it is with us, or how far we are gone toward the night? the answer is, we are in and toward the close of the Sardian church state; we are in the twilight, or in that part of time which is neither day nor night, Zechariah 14:6 the slaying of the witnesses is yet to come, which, with the general spread of Popery all over Christendom, will make it entire night; after which will come on the morning of the spiritual reign of Christ, when the light of the Gospel will be spread everywhere, and joy and gladness will attend the saints in all places; and it will be a time of great prosperity, both spiritual and temporal; which will be succeeded by another night of coldness, deadness, and carnal security, and will last till the second and personal coming of Christ; which will bring on the morning of a glorious resurrection to the saints, after which there will be no more night to them, though there will be an eternal one to the wicked. The Targum is,
"the prophet said, there is a reward for the righteous, and punishment for the wicked;''
and so the Jews elsewhere d interpret it of the morning of redemption to the righteous, and of the night of darkness to the wicked; or, as they sometimes express it e, the morning is for the righteous, and the night for the wicked; the morning for Israel, and the night for the nations of the world. Dumah they sometimes f make to be the angel appointed over spirits, who they suppose gather together, and say to him, "watchman", c.
if ye will inquire, inquire ye seriously and in good earnest, diligently and constantly, with all humility and reverence, by prayer to God and by searching the Scriptures, and by application to the watchmen, the ministers of the word, who make it their business to study it, and have the mind of Christ:
return, come; return by repentance, and come to God, who receives backsliders, heals their backslidings, and loves them freely; or, "come again", to the watchman, and to the Lord, and renew your inquiries till you get satisfaction.
d Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 1. & in Bava Kama fol, 3. 2. e T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 64. 1. & Kimchi in loc. f T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The watchman said - Or rather “saith;” indicating that this is the answer which the prophet returned to the inquiry from Idumea.
The morning cometh - There are signs of approaching day. The ‘morning’ here is an emblem of prosperity; as the light of the morning succeeds to the darkness of the night. This refers to the deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and is to be supposed as having been spoken near the time when that captivity was at an end - or nearly at break of day after the long night of their bondage. This declaration is to be understood as referring to a different people from those referred to in the expression which immediately follows - ‘and also the night.’ ‘The morning cometh’ - to the captive Jews; ‘and also the night’ - to some other people - to wit, the Idumeans. It “might” mean that the morning was to be succeeded by a time of darkness to the same people; but the connection seems to demand that we understand it of others.
And also the night - A time of calamity and affliction. This is emphatic. It refers to the Idumeans. ‘The morning cometh to the captive Jews; it shall be closely succeeded by a night - a time of calamity - to the taunting Idumeans.’ During the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Idumeans invaded and took possession of the southern part of Judea. The prophet here refers to the fact, perhaps, that on the return of the Jews to their native land, they would revenge this by expelling them, and by inflicting punishment on the land of Edom. For a full proof that calamities came upon the land of Idumea, see Keith “On the Prophecies.” Art. “Idumea,” and the notes at Isaiah 34:0)
If ye will inquire, inquire ye - If you choose to ask anything further in regard to this, you can. The sense is probably this: ‘You Idumeans have asked respecting the night in derision and reproach. An answer has been given somewhat agreeably to that inquiry. But if you seriously wish to know anything further respecting the destiny of your land, you can ask me (Isaiah) or any other prophet, and it will be known. But ask it in seriousness and earnestness, and with a suitable regard for the prophetic character and for God. And especially if you wish a more favorable answer to your inquiries, it is to be obtained only by forsaking sin and turning to God, and then you may come with the hope of a brighter prospect for the future.’ The design of this is, therefore:
(1) to “reprove” them for the manner in which they had asked the question;
(2) to assure them that God was willing to direct humble and serious inquirers; and
(3) to show in what way a favorable answer could be obtained - to wit, by repentance. And this is as true of sinners now as it was then. “They” often evince the reproachful and taunting spirit which the Idumeans did. “They” hear only a similar response - that prosperity and happiness await the Christian, though now in darkness and affliction; and that calamity and destruction are before the guilty. They “might” have the same answer - an answer that God would bless them and save them, if they would inquire in a humble, serious, and docile manner.
Return - Turn from your sins; come back to God, and show respect for him and his declarations.
Come - “Then” come and you shall be accepted, and the watch man will also announce “morning” as about to dawn on you. This seems to be the sense of this very dark and difficult prophecy. It is brief, enigmatical, and obscure. Yet it is beautiful; and if the sense above given be correct, it contains most weighty and important truth - alike for the afflicted and persecuted friends, and the persecuting and taunting foes of God. With reference to the interpretation here proposed, which supposes, as will have been seen:
(1) a state of excited feeling on the part of the Jews toward the Idumeans, for the part which they took in the destruction of their city;
(2) the prospect of speedy deliverance to the Jews in Babylon; and
(3) a consequent desolation and vengeance on the Idumeans for the feelings which they had manifested in the destruction of Jerusalem, see the prophecy of Obadiah, Obadiah 1:8-21 :
Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord,
Even destroy the wise men out of Edom,
And understanding out of the mount of Esau?
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that every one of the mount of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee,
And thou shalt be cut off for ever.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side;
In the day that the stranger carried away captive his forces;
And foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem;
Even thou wast as one of them.
But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother
In the day that he became a stranger;
Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen;
As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee;
Thy reward shall return upon thine own head, etc.
In this prophecy these circumstances are all to be found;
(1) the hostility of the Edomites against Jerusalem, and the part which they took in the destruction of the city, in Isaiah 21:10-14;
(2) the fact of the deliverance of the Jews from captivity, in Isaiah 22:17;
(3) the consequent vengeance upon the Idumeans Isaiah 34:5-6.
This remarkable coincidence in an independent prophecy is a strong circumstance to prove that the interpretation above proposed is correct. In regard to the general reasons for the interpretation here proposed, and the lessons which the prophecy is suited to convey, I may be permitted to refer to my “Practical Sermons,” pp. 325-341.
