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A Prophecy Against Jerusalem

22 Here is a prophecy against Jerusalem that the Lord gave me. Jerusalem is also known as the Valley of Vision.

People of Jerusalem, what’s the matter with you?
    Why have all of you gone up on the roofs of your houses?
Why is your town so full of noise?
    Why is your city so full of the sound of wild parties?
Those among you who died weren’t killed by swords.
    They didn’t die in battle.
All your leaders have run away.
    They’ve been captured without a single arrow being shot.
All you who were caught were taken away as prisoners.
    You ran off while your enemies were still far away.
So I said, “Leave me alone.
    Let me weep bitter tears.
Don’t try to comfort me.
    My people have been destroyed.”

The Lord who rules over all sent the noise of battle against you.
    The Lord brought disorder and terror
    to the Valley of Vision.
The walls of the city were knocked down.
    Cries for help were heard in the mountains.
Soldiers from Elam came armed with bows and arrows.
    They came with their chariots and horses.
    Soldiers from Kir got their shields ready.
Your rich valleys filled up with chariots.
    Horsemen took up their battle positions at your city gates.
    The Lord made Judah a place where it wasn’t safe to live anymore.

At that time, you depended
    on the weapons in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through in many places.
You stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.
10 You picked out the weaker buildings in Jerusalem.
    You tore them down and used their stones
    to strengthen the city walls against attack.
11 You built a pool between the two walls.
    You used it to save the water
    that was running down from the Old Pool.
But you didn’t look to the God who made it all possible.
    You didn’t pay any attention to the God
    who planned everything long ago.

12 The Lord who rules over all
    called out to you at that time.
The Lord told you to weep and cry.
    He told you to tear your hair out.
    And he told you to put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad.
13 Instead, you are enjoying yourselves at wild parties!
    You are killing cattle and sheep.
    You are eating their meat and drinking wine.
You are saying, “Let’s eat and drink,
    because tomorrow we’ll die.”

14 I heard the Lord who rules over all speaking. “Your sin can never be paid for as long as you live,” says the Lord.

15 The Lord who rules over all speaks. The Lord says,

“Go and speak to Shebna, the head servant.
    He is in charge of the palace. Tell him,
16 ‘What are you doing here outside the city?
    Who allowed you to cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Who said you could carve out your grave on the hillside?
    Who allowed you to cut out your resting place in the rock?

17 “ ‘Watch out, you mighty man!
    The Lord is about to grab you.
    He is about to throw you away.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball.
    He will throw you into a very large country.
There you will die.
    And that’s where the chariots you were so proud of will be.
    Those chariots will then bring nothing but shame on your master’s family!
19 The Lord will remove you from your job.
    You will be brought down from your high position.

20 “ ‘At that time he will send for his servant Eliakim. He is the son of Hilkiah. 21 The Lord will put your robe on Eliakim. He will tie your belt around him. He will hand your authority over to him. Eliakim will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22 The Lord will give Eliakim the key of authority in David’s royal house. No one can shut what he opens. And no one can open what he shuts. 23 The Lord will set him firmly in place like a peg driven into a wall. He will hold a position of honor in his family. 24 The good name of his whole family will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on a peg.

25 “ ‘But a new day is coming,’ ” announces the Lord who rules over all. “ ‘At that time the peg that was driven into the wall will give way. It will break off and fall down. And the heavy load hanging on it will also fall.’ ” The Lord has spoken.

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

22 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.

Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.

11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.

15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,

16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?

17 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.

18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.

19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.

25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.