Isaiah 22

CHAPTER 22

An Oracle Concerning the Valley of Vision

¹The ¹oracle concerning the ^avalley of vision.

What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the ^bhousetops?

²You who were full of noise,

You roaring city, you ^aexultant town;

Your slain were ^bnot slain with the sword,

Nor ¹did they die in battle.

^3aAll your rulers have fled together,

And have been captured ¹without the bow;

All of you who were found were captured together,

²Though they had fled far away.

⁴Therefore I say, “Turn your gaze away from me,

Let me ^aweep bitterly,

Do not insist on comforting me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

^5aFor Lord Yahweh of hosts has a ^bday of confusion, ^coppression, and panic

^dIn the valley of vision,

A breaking down of walls

And a crying ¹to the mountain.

^6aNow Elam took up the quiver

With the chariots, ¹infantry, and horsemen;

And ^bKir uncovered the shield.

⁷Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,

And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.

⁸And He revealed the ¹defense of Judah.

In that day you looked to the weapons of the ^ahouse of the forest,

⁹And you saw that the breaches

In the wall of the city of David were many;

And you ^acollected the waters of the lower pool.

¹⁰Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem

And tore down houses to fortify the wall.

¹¹And you made a reservoir ^abetween the two walls

For the waters of the ^bold pool.

But you did not look to Him who made it,

Nor did you see Him who formed it long ago.

¹²Therefore in that day Lord Yahweh of hosts called you to ^aweeping, to wailing,

To ^bshaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth.

¹³Instead, behold, there is ^ajoy and gladness,

Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,

Eating of meat and drinking of wine:

“^bLet us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”

¹⁴But Yahweh of hosts revealed Himself in my ears,

“Surely this ^ainiquity ^bshall not be atoned for you

^cUntil you die,” says Lord Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁵Thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts,

“Come, go to this steward,

To ^aShebna, who is in charge of the royal household,

¹⁶‘What right do you have here,

And whom do you have here,

That you have ^ahewn a tomb for yourself here,

You who hew a tomb on the height,

You who carve a dwelling place for ¹yourself in the cliff?

¹⁷‘Behold, Yahweh is about to hurl you headlong, O man.

And He is about to grasp you firmly

¹⁸And He will surely roll you tightly like a ball,

To be ^acast into a vast country;

There you will die,

And there your glorious chariots will be,

You disgrace of your master’s house.’

¹⁹“I will ^apush you out of your office,

And ¹I will pull you down from your station.

²⁰“Then it will be in that day,

That I will summon My servant ^aEliakim the son of Hilkiah,

²¹And I will clothe him with your tunic

And tie your sash securely about him.

I will give your ¹authority into his hand,

And he will become a ^afather to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

²²“Then I will set ^athe key of the ^bhouse of David on his shoulder,

When he opens no one will shut,

When he shuts no one will ^copen.

²³“I will drive him like a ^apeg in a firm place,

And he will become a ^bthrone of glory to his father’s house.

²⁴“So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and ¹issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.

²⁵“In that day,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “the ^apeg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even ^bbreak off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for ^cYahweh has spoken.”