Isaiah 22

Chapter 22

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 boisterous town, you ^aexultant city;

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 taken captive together,

²Though they had fled far away.

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

Let me ^aweep bitterly,

Do not ¹try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

^5aFor the Lord ¹God of hosts has a ^bday of panic, ^csubjugation and confusion

^dIn the valley of vision,

A breaking down of walls

And a crying ²to the mountain.

^6aElam 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 removed the ¹defense of Judah.

In that day you ²depended on 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 ¹depend on Him who made it,

Nor did you ²take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

¹²Therefore in that day the Lord ¹God of hosts called you to ^aweeping, to wailing,

To ^bshaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.

¹³Instead, there is ^agaiety 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 the Lord of hosts revealed Himself ¹to me,

“Surely this ^ainiquity ^bshall not be ²forgiven you

^cUntil you die,” says the Lord ³God of hosts.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord ¹God 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 resting place for ¹yourself in the rock?

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

And He is about to grasp you firmly

¹⁸And roll you tightly like a ball,

To be ^acast into a vast country;

There you will die

And there your splendid chariots will be,

You shame of your master’s house.’

¹⁹“I will ^adepose you from your office,

And ¹I will pull you down from your station.

²⁰“Then it will come about 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 entrust him with your ¹authority,

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 the Lord 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 the ^cLord has spoken.”