15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna(A) the palace(B) administrator:(C)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave(D) for yourself(E) 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(F) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw(G) you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots(H) 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(I) from your position.(J)

20 “In that day(K) I will summon my servant,(L) Eliakim(M) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(N) around him and hand your authority(O) 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(P) the key(Q) to the house of David;(R) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(S) 23 I will drive him like a peg(T) into a firm place;(U) he will become a seat[a] of honor(V) 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,(W)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(X) 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.(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:23 Or throne

Denunciation of Self-Seeking Officials

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Go to the steward Shebna, who is master of the household, and say to him:(A) 16 What right do you have here? Who are your relatives here, that you have cut out a tomb here for yourself, cutting a tomb[a] on the height and carving a habitation for yourself[b] in the rock?(B) 17 The Lord is about to hurl you away violently, my fellow. He will seize firm hold on you, 18 whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land; there you shall die, and there your splendid chariots shall lie, O you disgrace to your master’s house!(C) 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post.

20 “On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah(D) 21 and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.(E) 23 I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.(F) 24 And they will hang on him the whole weight of his ancestral house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way; it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will perish, for the Lord has spoken.”(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 22.16 Gk Vg: Heb his tomb
  2. 22.16 Gk Vg: Heb himself