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A Prophecy About Jerusalem

22 An oracle about the Valley of Vision.

What is troubling you now?
Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops?
Why is the town full of shouting?
Why is the joyful city full of turmoil?
Your fallen were not run through with the sword.
Your dead did not fall in battle.
All your rulers fled together,
captured by archers without bows.
All your refugees were caught together.
They had fled far away.
That is why I said,
“Look away from me.
I will weep bitterly.
Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter
    of my people.”[a]
For it is a day of turmoil, trampling, and terror.
This has come from the Lord, the God of Armies,
in the Valley of Vision.
It is a day for breaking down walls
and crying out to the mountains.
Elam picks up the quiver, with chariots and charioteers,
and Kir removes the covering from their shields.
Your fertile[b] valleys are full of chariots,
and charioteers[c] are posted by the gate.
He removed the cover that was protecting Judah.

On that day you looked for the weapons in the House of the Forest.
You saw all the breaches through the walls of the City of David—
and there were many.
You collected water from the Lower Pool.
10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem.
You planned to tear them down to strengthen the wall.
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls
for the water from the Old Pool.
But you did not look to the one who had made it.
You did not consider the one who shaped this long ago.

12 On that day the Lord, the God of Armies,
called for weeping and loud mourning.
He called for shaved heads and for dressing in sackcloth.
13 But take a look and see:
    joy and gladness,
    butchering cattle, killing sheep,
    eating meat, and drinking wine.
“Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

14 The Lord of Armies has revealed this in my hearing: “I swear, your guilt will not be atoned for until your dying day, says the Lord, the God of Armies.”

An Oracle Against Shebna

15 This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, says.

Go to this administrator Shebna, who is in charge of the palace, and ask him, 16 “What are you doing here? Who gave you permission to carve a tomb here?”

(Shebna was carving out a tomb for himself on a height, chiseling a resting place for himself in the cliff!)

17 Watch out! The Lord is going to hurl you away violently, you ordinary man.[d] He is going to grab you tightly, 18 whirl you around and around,[e] and throw you like a ball into the open countryside. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be there, to the shame of your master’s house. 19 I will expel you from your office. You will be thrown out from your position.

20 On that day I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority into his hand, and he will be a father for those who live in Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. 22 I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder. Whatever he opens, no one will shut. Whatever he shuts, no one will open. 23 I will drive him like a nail into a solid place. He will be an honored throne for the house of his father. 24 They will hang all the splendor of his father’s house on him: the branches and leaves,[f] and all the small containers, from the large bowls all the way down to the smallest juglets.[g]

25 In that day, says the Lord of Armies, the nail that was driven into a solid place will give way. It will be sheared off and fall down. The load hanging on it will be cut off, because the Lord has spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:4 Or my dear people. The term the daughter of my people is an affectionate way of referring to the people of Israel.
  2. Isaiah 22:7 Or strategic
  3. Isaiah 22:7 Or horsemen
  4. Isaiah 22:17 The Hebrew word is geber, man or mister, not gibbor, the word for a mighty military man.
  5. Isaiah 22:18 Or wrap you up tightly. This verse is difficult.
  6. Isaiah 22:24 Or the offspring and the offshoots or the produce and hidden treasure. The meaning of this term is uncertain, but it seems to mean from A to Z.
  7. Isaiah 22:24 Juglet is the archaeological term for the smallest jars in Israel’s pottery repertoire. The smallest, probably serving as containers for perfumed oil, were only a couple of inches tall.

A Prophecy About Jerusalem

22 A prophecy(A) against the Valley(B) of Vision:(C)

What troubles you now,
    that you have all gone up on the roofs,(D)
you town so full of commotion,
    you city of tumult(E) and revelry?(F)
Your slain(G) were not killed by the sword,(H)
    nor did they die in battle.
All your leaders have fled(I) together;
    they have been captured(J) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
    having fled while the enemy was still far away.
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
    let me weep(K) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
    over the destruction of my people.”(L)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(M)
    of tumult and trampling(N) and terror(O)
    in the Valley of Vision,(P)
a day of battering down walls(Q)
    and of crying out to the mountains.
Elam(R) takes up the quiver,(S)
    with her charioteers and horses;
    Kir(T) uncovers the shield.
Your choicest valleys(U) are full of chariots,
    and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(V)

The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day(W)
    to the weapons(X) in the Palace of the Forest.(Y)
You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through(Z) in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.(AA)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses(AB) to strengthen the wall.(AC)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(AD)
    for the water of the Old Pool,(AE)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard(AF) for the One who planned(AG) it long ago.

12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day(AH)
to weep(AI) and to wail,
    to tear out your hair(AJ) and put on sackcloth.(AK)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(AL)
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!(AM)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”(AN)

14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(AO) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(AP) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna(AQ) the palace(AR) administrator:(AS)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave(AT) for yourself(AU) here,
hewing your grave on the height
    and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
    and hurl(AV) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw(AW) you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots(AX) you were so proud of
    will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will depose you from your office,
    and you will be ousted(AY) from your position.(AZ)

20 “In that day(BA) I will summon my servant,(BB) Eliakim(BC) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(BD) around him and hand your authority(BE) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder(BF) the key(BG) to the house of David;(BH) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(BI) 23 I will drive him like a peg(BJ) into a firm place;(BK) he will become a seat[a] of honor(BL) for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

25 “In that day,(BM)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(BN) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.(BO)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:23 Or throne