The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 22 -

This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,

O city of commotion, O town of revelry? Your slain did not die by the sword, nor were they killed in battle.

All your rulers have fled together, captured without a bow. All your fugitives were captured together, having fled to a distant place.

Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision— of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains.

Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.

Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the gates.

He has uncovered the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.

You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.

You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore them down to strengthen the wall.

You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.

On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.

But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”(a)

The LORD of Hosts has revealed in my hearing: “Until your dying day, this sin of yours will never be atoned for,”

A Message for Shebna

says the Lord GOD of Hosts.

(15) This is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “Go, say to Shebna, the steward in charge of the palace:(16) What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?

Look, O mighty man! The LORD is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you,

roll you into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain—a disgrace to the house of your master.

I will remove you from office, and you will be ousted from your position.

On that day I will summon My servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority in his hand, and he will be a father to the dwellers of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(b)

I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a throne of glory for the house of his father.

So they will hang on him the whole burden of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the lesser vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.

In that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, the peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and fall, and the load upon it will be cut down.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

Footnotes

(a)22:13 Cited in 1 Corinthians 15:32

(b)22:22 See Revelation 3:7.

The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?

You that are full of shouting, a tumultuous city, a joyous town, your slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.

All your rulers fled away together. They were bound by the archers. All who were found by you were bound together. They fled far away.

Therefore I said, “Look away from me. I will weep bitterly. Don’t labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

For it is a day of confusion, and of treading down, and of perplexity from the Lord, the LORD of Armies, in the valley of vision, a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.”

Elam carried his quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield.

Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.

He took away the covering of Judah; and you looked in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.

You saw the breaches of David’s city, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.

You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who planned it long ago.

In that day, the Lord, the LORD of Armies, called to weeping, to mourning, to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth;

and behold, there is joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”

The LORD of Armies revealed himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord, the LORD of Armies.

A Message for Shebna

The Lord, the LORD of Armies says, “Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!”

Behold, the LORD will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly.

He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you disgrace of your lord’s house.

I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station.

It will happen in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

and I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your government into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

I will lay the key of David’s house on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.

I will fasten him like a nail in a sure place. He will be for a throne of glory to his father’s house.

They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the pitchers.

“In that day,” says the LORD of Armies, “the nail that was fastened in a sure place will give way. It will be cut down and fall. The burden that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken it.”