Isaiah 22
English Standard Version
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,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, (C)exultant town?
Your slain are (D)not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
3 (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.
4 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.”
5 (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.
6 And (L)Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and (M)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away (N)the covering of Judah.
In that day you looked to (O)the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 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.”
Isaiah 22
International Standard Version
Jerusalem is Rebuked
22 A message[a] concerning the Valley of Vision.[b]
“What troubles you,
now that you’ve all gone up
to the rooftops,
2 you who are full of commotion,
you passionate city,
you rollicking town?
Your slain weren’t killed by the sword,
nor are they dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together;
she is captured[c] without using bows.
All of you who were caught were captured together,
although they had fled
while the enemy was still[d] far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
and let me weep bitter tears;
don’t try to console[e] me
over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”[f]
5 For to the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
belongs the day of tumult, trampling, and confusion
in the Valley of Vision,[g]
and the pulling down of his Temple on[h] its mountain.
6 Elam takes up the quiver
with chariots and cavalry,
while Kir unsheathes the shield.
7 And it will come about[i]
that your choicest valleys will be filled with chariots,
and horsemen will take their positions at the gates.
8 He has uncovered the defenses of Judah.”
At that time,[j] you looked at the arsenal of the Palace of the Forest,[k] 9 and saw that there were many breaches in the City of David. So you stored up water from the Lower Pool, 10 counted the houses of Jerusalem, tore down certain houses to strengthen the wall, 11 and built a reservoir between the walls to store water from the Old Pool. But you did not look at[l] the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it long ago.
12 On that day the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
called for weeping and mourning,
for shaving heads[m] and wearing sackcloth.
13 But look!
There is joy and festivity,
slaughtering of cattle
and killing of sheep,
eating meat
and drinking[n] wine.
“Let us eat and drink, you say,
because we die tomorrow.”
14 “Nevertheless, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has revealed himself to my hearing:
‘“Surely because of you[o]
this iniquity will not be forgiven
you until you die,’
says the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.”
The Lord Rebukes Shebna
15 This is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies[p] says:
“Come, go to this steward, to Shebna who is in charge of the household, and ask him: 16 ‘What are you doing here, and who are your relatives here[q] that you could carve out a grave for yourself here—cutting out a tomb at the choicest location,[r] chiseling out a resting place for yourself out of solid rock? 17 Look Out! The Lord is about to hurl you away violently, my strong fellow! He[s] will fold you up completely, 18 rolling you up tightly like a ball and throwing you into a large country. There[t] you will die, and there[u] your splendid chariots will lie. You’re a disgrace to your master’s house! 19 I will depose you from your office, ousting you[v] from your position.
20 “At that time,[w] I’ll call for my servant, Hilkiah’s[x] son Eliakim, 21 and I’ll clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him. I’ll transfer your authority to him,[y] and he’ll be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 “I’ll place on his shoulder the key to the house of David—what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open. 23 I’ll set him like a peg into a secure place; he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. 24 The entire reputation of his father’s house will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its smaller vessels, from the cups to all the jars. 25 At that time,”[z] declares the Lord[aa] of the Heavenly Armies, “the peg that was driven into a secure place will give way; it will be sheared and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.”
The Lord has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 22:1 Lit. An oracle
- Isaiah 22:1 I.e. a poetic allusion to the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem
- Isaiah 22:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads they were captured
- Isaiah 22:3 The Heb. lacks while the enemy was still
- Isaiah 22:4 Lit. don’t insist on consoling
- Isaiah 22:4 I.e. the Lord’s beloved people
- Isaiah 22:5 I.e. a poetic allusion to the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem
- Isaiah 22:5 Or his Holy Place on; so 1QIsaa; MT reads and a crying out for help to
- Isaiah 22:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads it came about
- Isaiah 22:8 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 22:8 Cf. 1King 10:16-17
- Isaiah 22:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX 4QIsac read to
- Isaiah 22:12 Lit. for baldness
- Isaiah 22:13 So 1QIsaa MT; 1QIsac reads and they drink
- Isaiah 22:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX lack because of you
- Isaiah 22:15 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss LXX read Lord of the Heavenly Armies
- Isaiah 22:16 Lit. whom do you have here
- Isaiah 22:16 Lit. at the height
- Isaiah 22:17 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsaa 4QIsab MT LXX read And he
- Isaiah 22:18 So 4QIsaf; 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsaa MT read To there; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 22:18 So 4QIsaf; 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsaa MT read and to there; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 22:19 Lit. he has ousted you; so 1QIsaa; 4QIsaf MT LXXms read he will oust you; LXX lacks he has ousted you
- Isaiah 22:20 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 22:20 Lit. Hilkyah; so 1QIsaa 4QIsaf
- Isaiah 22:21 Lit. to his hand
- Isaiah 22:25 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 22:25 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsaf reads the Lord God
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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