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,

A declaration about the Valley of Vision: What is the reason that you have all gone up to the housetops?

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

Is it so you may hear a city full of noises, a town full of revelry? Your dead were not killed with the sword, and they did not 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 rulers fled away together, but they were captured without using a bow; all of them were captured together, though they had 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.”

Therefore I said, “Do not look at me, I will weep bitterly; do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction 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 there is a day of tumult, treading down, and confusion for the Lord Yahweh of hosts, in the Valley of Vision, a breaking down of the walls, and people crying out to the mountains.

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

Elam takes up the quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir lays the shield bare.

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

It will come about that your choicest valleys will be full of chariots, and the horsemen will take their positions at the gate.

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

He took away the protection of Judah; and you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.

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

You saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many, and you collected the water of the lower pool.

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

You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you tore down the houses 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.

You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not consider the city's maker, who had planned it long ago.

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

The Lord Yahweh of hosts called on that day for weeping, for mourning, for shaved heads, 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 look, instead, celebration and gladness, killing cattle and slaughtering sheep, eating meat and drinking 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,”

This was revealed in my ears by Yahweh of hosts: “Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you, even when you die,” says the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

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

The Lord Yahweh of hosts, says this, “Go to this administrator, to Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

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 doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a tomb for yourself, hewing out a grave on the heights and carving out a resting place in the rock?'”

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

See, Yahweh is about to throw you, a mighty man, about to throw you down; he will grasp you tightly.

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 surely wind you round and round, and toss you like a ball into a vast country. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will be; you will be the shame of your master's house!

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

“I will thrust you from your office and from your station. You will be pulled down.

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

It will come about on that day that I will call my servant Eliakim 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.

I will clothe him with your tunic and put on him your sash, and I will transfer your authority into his hand. He will be 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.

I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; he will open, and none will shut; he will shut, and none 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.

I will fasten him, a peg in a secure place, and he will become a seat of glory for his father's house.

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.

They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and descendants, every small container from the cups to all the jugs.

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.

On that day—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts—the peg driven in a firm place will give way, break off, and fall, and the weight that was on it will be cut off—for Yahweh has spoken.