15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to (A)Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, (B)that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you (C)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. (D)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 (E)your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 (F)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 (G)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and (H)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 (I)a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place (J)on his shoulder (K)the key of the house of David. (L)He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him (M)like a peg in a secure place, and he will become (N)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, (O)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.”

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Oracle regarding Shebna

15 The Lord, Yahweh of hosts, says this:

“Go! Go to this steward, to Shebna,
    who is over the house:
16 ‘What business do you have[a] here,
    and who do you have[b] here,
that you have cut a grave cutting here for yourself,
    carving his grave on the height,
    a dwelling place for him in the rock?
17 Look! Yahweh is about to really hurl[c] you, man!
    And he is about to grasp you firmly;
18         he will wind a winding tightly around you like a ball, to a wide land.[d]
There you shall die,
    and there the chariots of your splendor will be,
        disgrace to your master’s house!
19 And I will push you from your office,
    and he will throw you down from your position.

20 And this shall happen:

On that day I will call to my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah,
21     and I will clothe him with your tunic,
and I will bind your sash firmly about him,
    and I will put your authority into his hand,
and he shall be like a father to the inhabitants[e] of Jerusalem
    and to the house of Judah.
22 And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
    and he shall open and no one will be able to shut;
    and he shall shut and no one will be able to open.
23 And I will drive him in like a peg into a secure place,
    and he will become like a throne of glory to the house of his father.
24 And they will hang all of the heaviness of his father’s house on him,
    the offspring and the offshoot,
all of the small vessels,
    from the bowls to the jars.[f]

25 On that day, declares[g] Yahweh of hosts, the peg that was driven will move away into a secure place, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on her will be cut off. For Yahweh has spoken.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:16 Literally “to you”
  2. Isaiah 22:16 Literally “to you”
  3. Isaiah 22:17 Literally “hurl a hurling”
  4. Isaiah 22:18 Literally “land broad of sides”
  5. Isaiah 22:21 Hebrew “inhabitant”
  6. Isaiah 22:24 Literally “vessels of the bowls to all of the vessels of the jars”
  7. Isaiah 22:25 Literally “declaration of”