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.

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An Oracle against Jerusalem

22 An oracle(A) against the Valley of Vision:(B)

What’s the matter with you?
Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops?(C)
The noisy city, the jubilant town,(D)
is filled with revelry.
Your dead did not die by the sword;
they were not killed in battle.
All your rulers have fled together,
captured without a bow.
All your fugitives were captured together;
they had fled far away.
Therefore I said,
“Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly!(E)
Do not try to comfort me
about the destruction of my dear[a] people.”
For the Lord God of Hosts
had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion(F)
in the Valley of Vision—
people shouting[b] and crying to the mountains;
Elam took up a quiver
with chariots and horsemen,[c]
and Kir(G) uncovered the shield.
Your best valleys were full of chariots,
and horsemen were positioned at the gates.
He removed the defenses of Judah.

On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.(H) You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the city of David.(I) You collected water from the lower pool.(J) 10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the walls(K) for the waters of the ancient pool,(L) but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago.

12 On that day the Lord God of Hosts
called for weeping,(M) for wailing, for shaven heads,
and for the wearing of sackcloth.
13 But look: joy and gladness,
butchering of cattle, slaughtering of sheep,
eating of meat, and drinking of wine—
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”(N)
14 The Lord of Hosts has directly revealed to me:(O)
“This sin of yours will never[d] be wiped out.”(P)
The Lord God of Hosts has spoken.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:4 Lit of the daughter of my
  2. Isaiah 22:5 Or Vision—a tearing down of a wall, or Vision—Kir raged; Hb obscure
  3. Isaiah 22:6 Lit chariots of man
  4. Isaiah 22:14 Lit will not until you die