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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
watchmen	צֹפָ֞יו tza.fiu	H6822	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
blind	עִוְרִ֤ים 'iv.Rim	H5787	blind (literally or figuratively) · adjective, masculine plural absolute
ignorant	יָדָ֔עוּ ya.Da.'u	H3045	to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
dumb	אִלְּמִ֔ים 'i.le.Mim	H483	speechless · adjective, masculine plural absolute
dogs	כְּלָבִ֣ים ke.la.Vim	H3611	a dog · noun, common masculine plural absolute
cannot	יוּכְל֖וּ yu.khe.Lu	H3201	to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
bark	לִנְבֹּ֑חַ lin.Bo.ach	H5024	to bark (as a dog) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
sleeping	הֹזִים֙ ho.Zim	H1957	to dream · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
down	שֹֽׁכְבִ֔ים sho.khe.Vim	H7901	to lie down (for rest · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
loving	אֹהֲבֵ֖י 'o.ha.Vei	H157	to have affection for (sexually or otherwise) · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
slumber	לָנֽוּם la.Num	H5123	to slumber (from drowsiness) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he c…
Ezekiel 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from…
Isaiah 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Philippians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
Hosea 9:7-8 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for…
Nahum 3:18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathere…
Mark 13:34-37 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 56:9–end

From words of comfort the prophet here, by a very sudden change of his style, passes to words of reproof and conviction, and goes on in that strain, for the most part, in the three following chapters; and therefore some here begin a new sermon. He had assured the people that in due time God would deliver them out of captivity, which was designed for the comfort of those that should live when God would do this. Now here he shows what their sins and provocations were, for which God would send them into captivity, and this was designed for the conviction of those that lived in his own time, nearly a hundred years before the captivity, who were now filling up the measure of the nation's sin, and…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 56:10

His watchmen--Israel's spiritual leaders (Isa 62:6; Eze 3:17). dumb dogs--image from bad shepherds' watchdogs, which fail to give notice, by barking, of the approach of wild beasts. blind-- (Mat 23:16). sleeping, lying down--rather, "dreamers, sluggards" [LOWTH]. Not merely sleeping inactive, but under visionary delusions. loving to slumber--not merely slumbering involuntarily, but loving it.

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 56:10

His watchmen are blind - Kimchi observes, "The flock is intrusted to the care of these watchmen. The wild beasts come; these dogs bark not; and the wild beasts devour the flock. Thus they do not profit the flock. Yea, they injure it; for the owner trusts in them, that they will watch and be faithful; but they are not. These are the false teachers and careless shepherds." Dumb dogs, they cannot bark - See note on Isa 62:6. Sleeping "Dreamers" - הזים hozim, ενυπνιαζομενοι, Septuagint. This seems to be the best authority for the meaning of this word, which occurs only in this place: but it is to be observed, that eleven MSS. of Kennicott's and De Rossi's, and four editions, have חזים chazim, se…

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John Gill on Isaiah 56:10

The Church Fathers

Hence even sacred Scripture, with these sorts of disturbing passions in mind, in many places applies the names of brutes and of wild beasts to those gifted with reason; sometimes it calls them "dogs" on account of their shameful and headstrong behavior—"dumb dogs," since they are "unable even to bark."
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 12:10

"They are all stammering dogs" who stutter the praise of God and "cannot bark" against the idols, as against strangers. "They dream, lay down and love to slumber," that is, they love to sleep in the graves and in the places where sacrifices are offered to demons, and there they expect from them visions, dreams and ghosts.
— Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 56:10

In souls, pure and cleansed from all defilement, the prophetic gift shines clear. In a foul mirror you cannot see what the reflection is, neither can a soul preoccupied with cares of this life and darkened with the passions of the lust of the flesh receive the rays of the Holy Spirit. Every dream is not a prophecy, as Zechariah says, "The Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain … for the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have spoken false dreams." Those who, as Isaiah says, "dream and love to sleep in their bed" forget that an instigation of error is sent to "the children of disobedience."
— Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 210:6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Dog — Frequently mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments. Dogs were used by the Hebrews as a watch for their houses (Isa. 56:10), and for guarding their flocks (Job 30:1). There were also then as now…
Blindness · 21:14;22:13,14; — 21:14;22:13,14;
Dog (Sodomite?) · Dumb and sleeping — Dumb and sleeping
Dog, The · Illustrative: (Dumb,) of unfaithful ministers — Illustrative: (Dumb,) of unfaithful ministers
Idleness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Idleness And Sloth · Exemplified: Watchmen — Exemplified: Watchmen
Ignorance Of God · Exemplified: False prophets — Exemplified: False prophets
Ministers · When unfaithful: Described — When unfaithful: Described
Slothfulness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Watchfulness · Unfaithful ministers devoid of — Unfaithful ministers devoid of
Watchmen · Illustrative: (Blind,) of careless ministers — Illustrative: (Blind,) of careless ministers

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 56:10

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 56:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 56:10

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 56:10

John Gill on Isaiah 56:10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 56:10

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 56:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 56:10

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 56:10

John Gill on Isaiah 56:10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 56:10

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 56:10-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 56:10

Rashi on Isaiah 56:10