Isaiah 22 (New American Standard)

The Valley of Vision

1 The ^aoracle concerning the ¹valley of vision. What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the ²housetops ? 2 You who were full of noise, You boisterous town, you ³exultant city ; Your slain were ⁴not slain with the sword, Nor ^bdid they die in battle. 3 ⁵All your rulers have fled together, And have been captured ^cwithout the bow ; All of you who were found were taken captive together, ^dThough they had fled far away. 4 Therefore I say, "Turn your eyes away from me, Let me ⁶weep bitterly, Do not ^etry to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people." 5 ⁷For the Lord ^fGOD of hosts has a ⁸day of panic, ⁹subjugation and confusion ¹⁰In the valley of vision, A breaking down of walls And a crying ^gto the mountain. 6 ¹¹Elam took up the quiver With the chariots, ^hinfantry and horsemen ; And ¹²Kir uncovered the shield. 7 Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots, And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate. 8 And He removed the ⁱdefense of Judah. In that day you ^jdepended on the weapons of the ¹³house of the forest, 9 And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many ; And you ¹⁴collected the waters of the lower pool. 10 Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem And tore down houses to fortify the wall. 11 And you made a reservoir ¹⁵between the two walls For the waters of the ¹⁶old pool. But you did not ^kdepend on Him who made it, Nor did you ^ltake into consideration Him who planned it long ago. 12 Therefore in that day the Lord ^mGOD of hosts called you to ¹⁷weeping, to wailing, To ¹⁸shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. 13 Instead, there is ¹⁹gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine : "²⁰Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die." 14 But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself ⁿto me, "Surely this ²¹iniquity ²²shall not be ^oforgiven you ²³Until you die," says the Lord ^pGOD of hosts. 15 Thus says the Lord ^qGOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, To ²⁴Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household, 16 'What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have ²⁵hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for ^ryourself in the rock ? 17 'Behold, the LORD is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly 18 And roll you tightly like a ball, To be ²⁶cast into a vast country ; There you will die And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master's house.' 19 "I will ²⁷depose you from your office, And ^sI will pull you down from your station. 20 "Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant ²⁸Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your ^tauthority, And he will become a ²⁹father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 "Then I will set ³⁰the key of the ³¹house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will ³²open. 23 "I will drive him like a ³³peg in a firm place, And he will become a ³⁴throne of glory to his father's house. 24 "So they will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, offspring and ^uissue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 "In that day," declares the LORD of hosts, "the ³⁵peg driven in a firm place will give way ; it will even ³⁶break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the ³⁷LORD has spoken."