Isaiah 22
New Living Translation
A Message about Jerusalem
22 This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision[a]:
What is happening?
Why is everyone running to the rooftops?
2 The whole city is in a terrible uproar.
What do I see in this reveling city?
Bodies are lying everywhere,
killed not in battle but by famine and disease.
3 All your leaders have fled.
They surrendered without resistance.
The people tried to slip away,
but they were captured, too.
4 That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;
do not try to comfort me.
Let me cry for my people
as I watch them being destroyed.”
5 Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!
What a day of confusion and terror
brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
upon the Valley of Vision!
The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,
and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
6 Elamites are the archers,
with their chariots and charioteers.
The men of Kir hold up the shields.
7 Chariots fill your beautiful valleys,
and charioteers storm your gates.
8 Judah’s defenses have been stripped away.
You run to the armory[b] for your weapons.
9 You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.[c]
You store up water in the lower pool.
10 You survey the houses and tear some down
for stone to strengthen the walls.
11 Between the city walls, you build a reservoir
for water from the old pool.
But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.
You never considered the One who planned this long ago.
12 At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
called you to weep and mourn.
He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins
and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
13 But instead, you dance and play;
you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.
You feast on meat and drink wine.
You say, “Let’s feast and drink,
for tomorrow we die!”
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A Message for Shebna
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message:
16 “Who do you think you are,
and what are you doing here,
building a beautiful tomb for yourself—
a monument high up in the rock?
17 For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man.
He is going to grab you,
18 crumple you into a ball,
and toss you away into a distant, barren land.
There you will die,
and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless.
You are a disgrace to your master!
19 “Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position. 20 And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. 21 I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22 I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. 23 He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. 24 They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family.[d]”
25 But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 22:1 Hebrew concerning the Valley of Vision.
- 22:8 Hebrew to the House of the Forest; see 1 Kgs 7:2-5.
- 22:9 Hebrew the city of David.
- 22:24 Hebrew They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house: its offspring and offshoots, all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
Isaiah 22
Legacy Standard Bible
An Oracle Concerning the Valley of Vision
22 The [a]oracle concerning the (A)valley of vision.
What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the (B)housetops?
2 You who were full of noise,
You roaring city, you (C)exultant town;
Your slain were (D)not slain with the sword,
Nor [b]did they die in battle.
3 (E)All your rulers have fled together,
And have been captured [c]without the bow;
All of you who were found were captured together,
[d]Though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I say, “Turn your gaze away from me,
Let me (F)weep bitterly,
Do not insist on comforting me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 (G)For Lord Yahweh of hosts has a (H)day of confusion, (I)oppression, and panic
(J)In the valley of vision,
A breaking down of walls
And a crying [e]to the mountain.
6 (K)Now Elam took up the quiver
With the chariots, [f]infantry, and horsemen;
And (L)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.
8 And He revealed the [g]defense of Judah.
In that day you looked to the weapons of the (M)house of the forest,
9 And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you (N)collected the waters of the lower pool.
10 Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And tore down houses to fortify the wall.
11 And you made a reservoir (O)between the two walls
For the waters of the (P)old pool.
But you did not look to Him who made it,
Nor did you see Him who formed it long ago.
12 Therefore in that day Lord Yahweh of hosts called you to (Q)weeping, to wailing,
To (R)shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth.
13 Instead, behold, there is (S)joy and gladness,
Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,
Eating of meat and drinking of wine:
“(T)Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”
14 But Yahweh of hosts revealed Himself in my ears,
“Surely this (U)iniquity (V)shall not be atoned for you
(W)Until you die,” says Lord Yahweh of hosts.
15 Thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts,
“Come, go to this steward,
To (X)Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,
16 ‘What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have (Y)hewn a tomb for yourself here,
You who hew a tomb on the height,
You who carve a dwelling place for [h]yourself in the cliff?
17 Behold, Yahweh is about to hurl you headlong, O man.
And He is about to grasp you firmly
18 And He will surely roll you tightly like a ball,
To be (Z)cast into a vast country;
There you will die,
And there your glorious chariots will be,
You disgrace of your master’s house.’
19 I will (AA)push you out of your office,
And [i]I will pull you down from your station.
20 Then it will be in that day,
That I will summon My servant (AB)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 And I will clothe him with your tunic
And tie your sash securely about him.
I will give your [j]authority into his hand,
And he will become a (AC)father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 Then I will set (AD)the key of the (AE)house of David on his shoulder,
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will (AF)open.
23 I will drive him like a (AG)peg in a firm place,
And he will become a (AH)throne of glory to his father’s house.
24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and [k]issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 In that day,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “the (AI)peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even (AJ)break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for (AK)Yahweh has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 22:1 Or burden of
- Isaiah 22:2 Lit dead in battle
- Isaiah 22:3 Lit from a bow
- Isaiah 22:3 As in ancient versions; Heb They fled far away
- Isaiah 22:5 Or against
- Isaiah 22:6 Lit man
- Isaiah 22:8 Lit screen, covering
- Isaiah 22:16 Lit himself
- Isaiah 22:19 As in many ancient versions; Heb He
- Isaiah 22:21 Lit rule
- Isaiah 22:24 Or possibly leaf
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