Isaiah 22
22
God’s Message to Jerusalem
1This is a message#22:1 message Or “burden.” about the Valley of Vision#22:1 Valley of Vision This probably means one of the valleys near Jerusalem. Also in verse 5.:
Jerusalem, what is wrong?
Why has everyone gone up to hide in their upper rooms?
2This city was so happy,
but now there is a terrible uproar.
There are bodies lying everywhere,
but they were not killed with swords.
The people died,
but not while fighting.
3All your officers ran away together,
but they have all been captured without bows.#22:3 but they have … bows Or “but the archers captured them.”
All the leaders ran away together,
but they were found and captured.
4So I say, “Don’t look at me!
Let me cry!
Don’t rush to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5The Lord GOD All-Powerful chose a special day for there to be riots and confusion. People trampled on each other in the Valley of Vision. The city walls were pulled down. People in the valley shouted up at those on the mountain. 6Horse soldiers from Elam took their bags of arrows and rode into battle. Soldiers from Kir rattled their shields. 7Your favorite valley was filled with chariots. Horse soldiers were stationed in front of the city gates. 8Then the cover protecting Judah#22:8 cover protecting Judah This might be the wall around Jerusalem, but see Isa. 4:5-6. was removed, and the people turned to the weapons they kept at the Forest Palace.#22:8 Forest Palace A part of Solomon’s palace where his weapons and wealth were stored.
9-11Then you noticed how many cracks there were in the walls around the City of David, so you began collecting water from the Lower Pool.#22:9-11 Lower Pool The pool at the southern tip of the City of David, just below the Upper Pool (the Pool of Siloam). You counted the houses and used stones from them to repair the walls. Then you built a pool between the double walls#22:9-11 pool between the double walls This is probably the Upper Pool (the Pool of Siloam). for storing water from the Old Pool.#22:9-11 Old Pool Probably the pool at Gihon Spring on the eastern slopes of the city.
You did all this to protect yourselves, but you did not trust the God who made all these things. You did not even notice the one who made all these things so long ago. 12So the Lord GOD All-Powerful told the people to cry and mourn for their dead friends. He told them to shave their heads and wear mourning clothes. 13But look, everyone was happy. The people rejoiced, saying,
“Kill the cattle and sheep,
and let’s celebrate.
Let’s eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
14The Lord All-Powerful said this to me and I heard it with my own ears: “You are guilty of doing wrong, and I promise that you will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Lord GOD All-Powerful said these things.
God’s Message to Shebna
15The Lord GOD All-Powerful told me to go to Shebna, the palace manager, 16and say this: “What are you doing here? None of your relatives are buried here, are they? Then what right do you have to prepare a tomb for yourself in this high place? Why are you cutting a tomb out of this rock?
17-18“What a big man you are! But the Lord will crush you. He will roll you into a small ball and throw you far away into the open arms of another country, and there you will die.
“You are very proud of your chariots. But in that faraway land, your new ruler will have better chariots. And your chariots will not look important in his palace. 19I will force you out of your position here. Your new leader will take you away from your important job. 20At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21I will take your robe and put it on him. I will give him your scepter. I will give him the important job you have, and he will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah’s family.#22:21 people of Jerusalem and Judah’s family Or “The king sitting on the throne in Jerusalem, the royal family of Judah.”
22“I will put the key to David’s house around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it. If he closes a door, no one will be able to open it. 23He will be like a favorite chair in his father’s house. I will make him like a strong peg in a solid board. 24All the honored and important things of his father’s house will hang on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like little dishes and big water bottles hanging on him.”
25The Lord All-Powerful said, “At that time the peg that is now in the solid board will get weak and break. It will fall to the ground, and everything hanging on it will be destroyed. Then everything I said in this message will happen. It will happen because the Lord said it would.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 22: ERV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Isaiah 22
22
A Message about Jerusalem
1This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision#22:1 Hebrew concerning the Valley of Vision.:
What is happening?
Why is everyone running to the rooftops?
2The whole city is in a terrible uproar.
What do I see in this reveling city?
Bodies are lying everywhere,
killed not in battle but by famine and disease.
3All your leaders have fled.
They surrendered without resistance.
The people tried to slip away,
but they were captured, too.
4That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;
do not try to comfort me.
Let me cry for my people
as I watch them being destroyed.”
5Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!
What a day of confusion and terror
brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
upon the Valley of Vision!
The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,
and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
6Elamites are the archers,
with their chariots and charioteers.
The men of Kir hold up the shields.
7Chariots fill your beautiful valleys,
and charioteers storm your gates.
8Judah’s defenses have been stripped away.
You run to the armory#22:8 Hebrew to the House of the Forest; see 1 Kgs 7:2-5. for your weapons.
9You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.#22:9 Hebrew the city of David.
You store up water in the lower pool.
10You survey the houses and tear some down
for stone to strengthen the walls.
11Between the city walls, you build a reservoir
for water from the old pool.
But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.
You never considered the One who planned this long ago.
12At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
called you to weep and mourn.
He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins
and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
13But instead, you dance and play;
you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.
You feast on meat and drink wine.
You say, “Let’s feast and drink,
for tomorrow we die!”
14The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A Message for Shebna
15This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message:
16“Who do you think you are,
and what are you doing here,
building a beautiful tomb for yourself—
a monument high up in the rock?
17For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man.
He is going to grab you,
18crumple you into a ball,
and toss you away into a distant, barren land.
There you will die,
and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless.
You are a disgrace to your master!
19“Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position. 20And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. 21I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. 23He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. 24They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family.#22:24 Hebrew They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house: its offspring and offshoots, all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.”
25But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: