Isaiah 22

1 This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,

The burden of the valley of vision. What does it mean to you, then, that each of you have even climbed to the rooftops?

2 O city of commotion, O town of revelry? Your slain did not die by the sword, nor were they killed in battle.

Filled with clamor, a busy city, an exultant city: your dead have not been slain by the sword, nor did they die in battle.

3 All your rulers have fled together, captured without a bow. All your fugitives were captured together, having fled to a distant place.

All your leaders have fled together, and they have been bound by hardship. All who were found were chained together. They have fled far away.

4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

For this reason, I said: “Depart from me. I will weep bitterly. Make no attempt to console me, over the devastation of the daughter of my people.”

5 For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision— of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains.

For it is a day of death, and of trampling, and of weeping to the Lord, the God of hosts, in the valley of vision: examining the wall and the magnificence above the mountain.

6 Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.

And Elam took up the quiver and the chariot of the horseman; and he stripped the wall of the shield.

7 Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the gates.

And your elect valleys will be filled with chariots, and the horsemen will position themselves at the gates.

8 He has uncovered the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.

And the covering of Judah will be exposed, and in that day, you will see the weaponry of the forest house.

9 You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.

And you will see breaches in the city of David, for these have been multiplied. But you have gathered together the waters of the lower fish-pool.

10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore them down to strengthen the wall.

And you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem. And you have destroyed the houses in order to fortify the wall.

11 You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.

And you have made a pit between two walls for the waters of the ancient fish-pool. But you have not gazed upward to him who made it, and you have not considered, even from a distance, its Maker.

12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.

And in that day, the Lord, the God of hosts, will call to weeping and mourning, to baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.

13 But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

But behold: gladness and rejoicing, the killing of calves and the slaughter of rams, the eating of meat and the drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”

14 The LORD of Hosts has revealed in my hearing: “Until your dying day, this sin of yours will never be atoned for,”

And the voice of the Lord of hosts was revealed in my ears: “Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you, until you die,” says the Lord, the God of hosts.

15 This is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “Go, say to Shebna, the steward in charge of the palace:

Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: Go forth and enter to him who lives in the tabernacle, to Shebna, who is in charge of the temple, and you shall say to him:

16 What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?

“What are you here, or who are you claiming to be here? For you have hewn a sepulcher for yourself here. You have diligently hewn a memorial in a rock, as a tabernacle to yourself.

17 Look, O mighty man! The LORD is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you,

Behold, the Lord will cause you to be carried away, like a domesticated rooster, and he will remove you, like an outer garment.

18 roll you into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain—a disgrace to the house of your master.

He will crown you with a crown of tribulation. He will toss you like a ball into a broad and spacious land. There you will die, and there the chariot of your glory will be, for it is a shame to the house of your Lord.”

19 I will remove you from office, and you will be ousted from your position.

And I will expel you from your station, and I will depose you from your ministry.

20 On that day I will summon My servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

And this shall be in that day: I will call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.

21 I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority in his hand, and he will be a father to the dwellers of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

And I will clothe him with your vestment, and I will strengthen him with your belt, and I will give your authority to his hand. And he shall be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

And I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder. And when he opens, no one will close. And when he closes, no one will open.

23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a throne of glory for the house of his father.

And I will fasten him like a peg in a trustworthy place. And he will be upon a throne of glory in the house of his father.

24 So they will hang on him the whole burden of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the lesser vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.

And they will suspend over him all the glory of his father’s house: various kinds of vessels and every little article, from the vessels of bowls even to every instrument of music.

25 In that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, the peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and fall, and the load upon it will be cut down.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg which was fastened in a trustworthy place shall be taken away. And he will be broken, and he will fall, and he will perish, along with all that had depended upon him, because the Lord has spoken it.