2 Kings 9:17-20

9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. ¹  He said, “I see troops!” ²  Jehoram ordered, ³  “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁴  9:18 So the horseman ⁵  went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁶  Jehu replied, “None of your business! ⁷  Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them ⁸  and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁹  Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; ¹⁰  he drives recklessly.”

Isaiah 21:6-9

21:6 For this is what the sovereign master ¹¹  has told me:

“Go, post a guard!

He must report what he sees.

21:7 When he sees chariots,

teams of horses, ¹² 

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels,

he must be alert,

very alert.”

21:8 Then the guard ¹³  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ¹⁴ 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

21:9 Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.” ¹⁵ 

When questioned, he replies, ¹⁶ 

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

Isaiah 21:11-12

Bad News for Seir

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: ¹⁷ 

Someone calls to me from Seir, ¹⁸ 

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?” ¹⁹ 

21:12 The watchman replies,

“Morning is coming, but then night. ²⁰ 

If you want to ask, ask;

come back again.” ²¹ 

Ezekiel 33:2-7

33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, ²²  and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman. 33:3 He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, ²³  and warns the people, ²⁴  33:4 but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death. ²⁵  33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. ²⁶  If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 33:6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, ²⁷  but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ ²⁸ 

33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman ²⁹  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

¹ tn Heb “the quantity [of the men] of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere שִׁפְעַה (shif’ah), “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).

² tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.

³ tn Heb “said.”

⁴ tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”

⁵ tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”

⁶ tn Heb “Is there peace?”

⁷ tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”

⁸ tn Heb “and he came to them.”

⁹ tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”

¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

¹² tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”

¹³ tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.

¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).

¹⁵ tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).

¹⁷ tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.

¹⁸ sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.

¹⁹ sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.

²⁰ sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.

²¹ sn The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”

²² tn Heb “sons of your people.”

²³ tn Heb “shofar,” a ram’s horn rather than a brass instrument (so throughout the chapter).

²⁴ tn Sounding the trumpet was a warning of imminent danger (Neh 4:18-20; Jer 4:19; Amos 3:6).

²⁵ tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”

²⁶ tn Heb “his blood will be on him.”

²⁷ tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 8 and 9; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.

²⁸ tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”

²⁹ sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.