Jerusalem is Rebuked
22 A message[a] concerning the Valley of Vision.[b]
“What troubles you,
now that you’ve all gone up
to the rooftops,
2 you who are full of commotion,
you passionate city,
you rollicking town?
Your slain weren’t killed by the sword,
nor are they dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together;
she is captured[c] without using bows.
All of you who were caught were captured together,
although they had fled
while the enemy was still[d] far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
and let me weep bitter tears;
don’t try to console[e] me
over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”[f]
5 For to the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
belongs the day of tumult, trampling, and confusion
in the Valley of Vision,[g]
and the pulling down of his Temple on[h] its mountain.
6 Elam takes up the quiver
with chariots and cavalry,
while Kir unsheathes the shield.
7 And it will come about[i]
that your choicest valleys will be filled with chariots,
and horsemen will take their positions at the gates.
8 He has uncovered the defenses of Judah.”
At that time,[j] you looked at the arsenal of the Palace of the Forest,[k] 9 and saw that there were many breaches in the City of David. So you stored up water from the Lower Pool, 10 counted the houses of Jerusalem, tore down certain houses to strengthen the wall, 11 and built a reservoir between the walls to store water from the Old Pool. But you did not look at[l] the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it long ago.
12 On that day the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
called for weeping and mourning,
for shaving heads[m] and wearing sackcloth.
13 But look!
There is joy and festivity,
slaughtering of cattle
and killing of sheep,
eating meat
and drinking[n] wine.
“Let us eat and drink, you say,
because we die tomorrow.”
14 “Nevertheless, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has revealed himself to my hearing:
‘“Surely because of you[o]
this iniquity will not be forgiven
you until you die,’
says the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.”
The Lord Rebukes Shebna
15 This is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies[p] says:
“Come, go to this steward, to Shebna who is in charge of the household, and ask him: 16 ‘What are you doing here, and who are your relatives here[q] that you could carve out a grave for yourself here—cutting out a tomb at the choicest location,[r] chiseling out a resting place for yourself out of solid rock? 17 Look Out! The Lord is about to hurl you away violently, my strong fellow! He[s] will fold you up completely, 18 rolling you up tightly like a ball and throwing you into a large country. There[t] you will die, and there[u] your splendid chariots will lie. You’re a disgrace to your master’s house! 19 I will depose you from your office, ousting you[v] from your position.
20 “At that time,[w] I’ll call for my servant, Hilkiah’s[x] son Eliakim, 21 and I’ll clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him. I’ll transfer your authority to him,[y] and he’ll be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 “I’ll place on his shoulder the key to the house of David—what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open. 23 I’ll set him like a peg into a secure place; he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. 24 The entire reputation of his father’s house will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its smaller vessels, from the cups to all the jars. 25 At that time,”[z] declares the Lord[aa] of the Heavenly Armies, “the peg that was driven into a secure place will give way; it will be sheared and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.”
The Lord has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 22:1 Lit. An oracle
- Isaiah 22:1 I.e. a poetic allusion to the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem
- Isaiah 22:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads they were captured
- Isaiah 22:3 The Heb. lacks while the enemy was still
- Isaiah 22:4 Lit. don’t insist on consoling
- Isaiah 22:4 I.e. the Lord’s beloved people
- Isaiah 22:5 I.e. a poetic allusion to the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem
- Isaiah 22:5 Or his Holy Place on; so 1QIsaa; MT reads and a crying out for help to
- Isaiah 22:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads it came about
- Isaiah 22:8 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 22:8 Cf. 1King 10:16-17
- Isaiah 22:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX 4QIsac read to
- Isaiah 22:12 Lit. for baldness
- Isaiah 22:13 So 1QIsaa MT; 1QIsac reads and they drink
- Isaiah 22:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX lack because of you
- Isaiah 22:15 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss LXX read Lord of the Heavenly Armies
- Isaiah 22:16 Lit. whom do you have here
- Isaiah 22:16 Lit. at the height
- Isaiah 22:17 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsaa 4QIsab MT LXX read And he
- Isaiah 22:18 So 4QIsaf; 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsaa MT read To there; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 22:18 So 4QIsaf; 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsaa MT read and to there; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 22:19 Lit. he has ousted you; so 1QIsaa; 4QIsaf MT LXXms read he will oust you; LXX lacks he has ousted you
- Isaiah 22:20 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 22:20 Lit. Hilkyah; so 1QIsaa 4QIsaf
- Isaiah 22:21 Lit. to his hand
- Isaiah 22:25 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 22:25 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsaf reads the Lord God