Isaiah 22:1-14
Lexham English Bible
Oracle against Jerusalem
22 The oracle of the valley of vision:
What business do you have going[a] up, all of you, to the roofs,
2 noisy,[b] tumultuous city,
exultant town?
Your slain are not slain by the sword,
nor are they dead from battle.
3 All of your rulers have fled together without a bow;
all of you who were found[c] were captured.
They were captured together;
they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said,
“Look away from me,
let me weep bitterly;[d]
you must not insist on comforting me
for the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 For the Lord Yahweh of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion[e] in the valley of vision,
a tearing down of walls[f] and a cry for help to the mountains.[g]
6 And Elam lifted up the quiver,
with chariots[h] of men[i] and cavalry.
And Kir uncovered the shield.
7 And this happened:
the choicest of your valleys were full of chariots,[j]
and the cavalry confidently stood at the gate.
8 And he uncovered the covering of Judah.
And you looked, on that day, to the weapons[k] of the House of the Forest,
9 and you saw that the breaches in the walls of the city of David were many,
and you gathered 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 And you made a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the old pool,
but you did not look to its maker,
and you did not see the one who created it long ago.[l]
12 And the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, called on that day
for weeping and mourning,
and for baldness and girding with[m] sackcloth.
13 But look! Joy and gladness,
the killing of oxen[n] and the slaughtering of sheep,
the eating of meat and the drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
14 And it was revealed in my ears by Yahweh of hosts:
“Surely this sin will not be atoned for you until you die!”
says the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 22:1 Literally “What to you then that you have gone”
- Isaiah 22:2 Literally “full of noises”
- Isaiah 22:3 Literally “your found ones”
- Isaiah 22:4 Literally “be bitter in weeping”
- Isaiah 22:5 These three Hebrew words are alliterative: mehûmâûmeḇûsâûmeḇûḵâ
- Isaiah 22:5 Hebrew “wall”
- Isaiah 22:5 Hebrew “mountain”
- Isaiah 22:6 Hebrew “chariot”
- Isaiah 22:6 Hebrew “man”
- Isaiah 22:7 Hebrew “chariot”
- Isaiah 22:8 Hebrew “weapon”
- Isaiah 22:11 Literally “its creator from far away”
- Isaiah 22:12 Literally “of”
- Isaiah 22:13 Hebrew “ox”
Isaiah 22:1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Warning of Destruction of Jerusalem
22 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.
What has happened that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,(A)
2 city full of shouting,
tumultuous city, panic-stricken town?
Your slain are not slain by the sword,
nor are they dead in battle.(B)
3 Your rulers have all fled together;
they were captured without the use of a bow.[a]
All of your people who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.[b](C)
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
let me weep bitter tears;
do not try to comfort me
for the destruction of my beloved people.”(D)
5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a cry for help to the mountains.(E)
6 Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and cavalry,[c]
and Kir uncovered the shield.(F)
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the cavalry took their stand at the gates.(G)
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah.
On that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,(H) 9 and you saw that there were many breaches in the city of David, and you collected the waters of the lower pool.(I) 10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it or have regard for him who planned it long ago.(J)
12 On that day the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for baldness and putting on sackcloth,(K)
13 but instead there was joy and festivity,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating meat and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”(L)
14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.(M)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.