Profeţie împotriva Ierusalimului

22 O profeţie cu privire la Valea Viziunii.

„Ce vreţi să arătaţi, de v-aţi urcat
    cu toţii pe acoperişuri,
oraş plin de zarvă,
    cetate gălăgioasă şi plină de dezmăţ?
Cei ucişi dintre ai tăi n-au fost răpuşi de sabie,
    nu au murit în luptă.
Toţi conducătorii tăi au fugit împreună,
    însă au fost prinşi fără să se folosească arcul.
Toţi dintre ai tăi care au fost găsiţi, au fost capturaţi împreună,
    deşi fugiseră departe.
De aceea am zis: «Întoarceţi-vă privirile de la mine!
    Lăsaţi-mă să vărs lacrimi amare!
Nu încercaţi să mă mângâiaţi
    pentru distrugerea fiicei poporului meu!»

Căci este o zi de învălmăşeală, de călcat în picioare şi de groază,
    o zi trimisă de Stăpânul, Domnul Oştirilor,
        în Valea Viziunii;
o zi în care se dărâmă ziduri
    şi se strigă după ajutor spre munţi.
Elamul îşi ia tolba cu săgeţi,
    călăreţii, în carele lor de luptă, şi caii înaintează,
        iar Chirul îşi dezveleşte scutul.
Văile tale cele mai alese sunt pline de care,
    iar călăreţii stau pregătiţi de luptă la porţile cetăţii;
        zidurile de apărare ale lui Iuda sunt date la o parte.

În acea zi, aţi căutat
    după arme în Palatul Pădurii,
aţi observat că zidurile Cetăţii lui David
    au multe spărturi
şi aţi adunat apele
    în Iazul de Jos.
10 Aţi numărat casele din Ierusalim
    şi aţi dărâmat o parte din ele pentru a întări zidul.
11 Între zidurile cetăţii aţi făcut un rezervor
    pentru apa din iazul cel vechi
şi nu aţi privit spre Cel Ce a făcut aceste lucruri,
    nici nu aţi ţinut seama de Cel Ce a plănuit demult aceasta.

12 În ziua aceea Stăpânul, Domnul Oştirilor,
    v-a chemat să plângeţi şi să vă jeliţi,
        să vă smulgeţi părul şi să vă îmbrăcaţi în sac.
13 Când colo însă, la voi a fost veselie şi petrecere,
    au fost boi tăiaţi şi oi înjunghiate!
S-a mâncat carne, s-a băut vin şi s-a strigat:
    «Să mâncăm şi să bem,
        căci mâine vom muri!»

14 Domnul Oştirilor mi S-a descoperit, spunându-mi: «Această nelegiuire a voastră nu va fi ispăşită până veţi muri», zice Stăpânul, Domnul Oştirilor.

15 Aşa vorbeşte Stăpânul, Domnul Oştirilor:

«Du-te la acel administrator,
    la Şebna, administratorul palatului, şi spune-i:
16 ‘Ce drept ai tu aici şi pe cine ai tu pe aceste locuri,
    de ţi-ai săpat chiar aici un mormânt,
un mormânt săpat pe înălţime,

un loc dăltuit în stâncă?’»

17 Iată! Domnul e gata să te apuce cu putere
    şi să te arunce de aici, bărbat puternic!
18 Te va înfăşura strâns
    şi te va arunca ca pe o minge,
        într-o ţară întinsă;
acolo vei muri
    şi acolo îţi vor rămâne carele tale frumoase,
        tu, ruşinea palatului stăpânului tău!
19 Te voi da afară din slujbă
    şi vei fi doborât de pe poziţia ta.
20 «În ziua aceea
    îl voi chema pe slujitorul Meu,
        pe Eliachim, fiul lui Hilchia,
21 îl voi îmbrăca cu mantia ta
    şi-l voi încinge cu cingătoarea ta,
        iar autoritatea ta i-o voi da lui.
El va fi un tată
    pentru locuitorii Ierusalimului
        şi pentru Casa lui Iuda.
22 Pe umărul lui voi pune cheia Casei lui David.
    Ce va deschide el, nimeni nu va închide,
        iar ce va închide, nimeni nu va deschide!
23 Îl voi împlânta ca pe un piron într-un loc tare
    şi va fi un tron de onoare pentru familia tatălui său.

24 Vor sprijini pe el toată gloria familiei tatălui său: urmaşii şi vlăstarii, orice vas mic, de la castroane până la ulcioare.

25 În ziua aceea, zice Domnul Oştirilor, ţăruşul împlântat în loc sigur va fi scos; va fi tăiat şi va cădea, iar povara ce se sprijinea pe el va fi doborâtă», căci Domnul a vorbit.“

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

An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem

22 The (A)oracle concerning (B)the valley of vision.

What do you mean that you have gone up,
    all of you, to the housetops,
you who are full of shoutings,
    tumultuous city, (C)exultant town?
Your slain are (D)not slain with the sword
    or dead in battle.
(E)All your leaders have fled together;
    without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
    though they had fled far away.
Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
    (F)let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
    concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

(G)For the Lord God of hosts has (H)a day
    of tumult and (I)trampling and (J)confusion
    in (K)the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
    and a shouting to the mountains.
And (L)Elam bore the quiver
    with chariots and horsemen,
    and (M)Kir uncovered the shield.
Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
    and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
He has taken away (N)the covering of Judah.

In that day you looked to (O)the weapons of the House of the Forest, and you saw that (P)the breaches of the city of David were many. (Q)You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 (R)You made a reservoir between (S)the two walls for the water of (T)the old pool. But (U)you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

12 In that day (V)the Lord God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for (W)baldness and (X)wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
(Y)“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts (Z)has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely (AA)this iniquity will not be atoned for you (AB)until you die,”
    says the Lord God of hosts.

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to (AC)Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, (AD)that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you (AE)who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. (AF)He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be (AG)your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 (AH)I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant (AI)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and (AJ)I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be (AK)a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place (AL)on his shoulder (AM)the key of the house of David. (AN)He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him (AO)like a peg in a secure place, and he will become (AP)a throne of honor to his father's house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, (AQ)the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”