Isaiah 56 · a question people ask
Who are the watchmen and shepherds of 56:10-11?
The verses don't name them. They say "His watchmen" (56:10) without saying whose, and they call them "mute dogs" (56:10) and "shepherds who can’t understand" (56:11). The verse before calls "All you animals of the field" to "come to devour" (56:9), and doesn't say whom. The chapter says what the watchmen are like and what they say (56:10-12), and no more. These notes don't say whose watchmen they are, and apply the verses to no leader or people today.
The verses
“All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest. His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark— dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. “Come,” they say, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.””