Isaiah 21:8

21:8 Then the guard ¹  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ² 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

Isaiah 59:4

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ³ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ⁴  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ⁵ 

and give birth to sin.

[21:8]  ¹ 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.

[21:8]  ² 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).

[59:4]  ³ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ⁵ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”