'Watchmen' in the Bible

Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away and they went here and there.

Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down. They utterly smashed his altar and his images to pieces, and they put Mattan the priest of Baal to death in front of the altars. And [Jehoiada] the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.

I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while the watchmen are still standing guard, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, each at his post [on the wall], and each in front of his own house.”

My soul waits for the LordMore than the watchmen for the morning;More than the watchmen for the morning.

“The watchmen who go around the city found me,And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

“The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me.They struck me, they wounded me;The guardsmen of the walls took my shawl from me.

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,Together they shout for joy;For they will see face to faceThe return of the Lord to Zion.

Israel’s watchmen are blind,They are all without knowledge.They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed and stationed watchmen (prophets),Who will never keep silent day or night;You who profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves,

“I have set watchmen (prophets) over you,Saying, ‘Listen and pay attention to the [warning] sound of the trumpet!’But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

“For there will be a day when the watchmenOn the hills of Ephraim cry out,‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,To the Lord our God.’”

The best of them is [injurious] like a briar;The most upright is [prickly] like a thorn hedge.The day of your watchmen [that is, the time predicted by the prophets]And your punishment comes;Now shall be their confusion.