Isaiah 22:10

10 You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls.

Isaiah 22:10 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 22:10

And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem
To know what number of men were in them, and how many could be spared to do duty, either as watchmen or soldiers; or to know how to levy the tax, and what money they would be able to raise, to defray the charge of the defence of the city; or to see what provisions they had, and so make a computation how long they could hold out the siege; or else to observe what houses might be annoyed by the enemy, and what stood in the way of the repair of the walls, or were proper to pull down, that with the stones and timber of them they might make up the breaches of the wall, and that the stronger, as follows: and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall;
either such as were without the wall, which, had they let them stand, would either have been destroyed by the enemy, or have been a harbour for them; or those upon it, and near it within, which stood in the way of the repair, and were easily beat down by the enemy; or might be a means of communication between them and such as were inclined to be treacherous; with the stones and timber of which houses, when broken down, they strengthened the wall, and so served a better purpose than if they had stood.

Isaiah 22:10 In-Context

8 Judah’s defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons.

9 You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool.

10 You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls.

11 Between 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.

12 At 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.