Isaiah

The book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 22, New English Translation and King James Version

Chapter 22 New English Translation

The LORD Will Judge Jerusalem

   1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: What is the reason that all of you go up to the rooftops?
   2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds; the town is filled with revelry. Your slain were not cut down by the sword; they did not die in battle.
   3 All your leaders ran away together - they fled to a distant place; all your refugees were captured together - they were captured without a single arrow being shot.
   4 So I say: "Don't look at me! I am weeping bitterly. Don't try to console me concerning the destruction of my defenseless people."
   5 For the sovereign master, the LORD who commands armies, has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. In the Valley of Vision people shout and cry out to the hill.
   6 The Elamites picked up the quiver, and came with chariots and horsemen; the men of Kir prepared the shield.
   7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots; horsemen confidently took their positions at the gate.
   8 They removed the defenses of Judah. At that time you looked for the weapons in the House of the Forest.
   9 You saw the many breaks in the walls of the city of David; you stored up water in the lower pool.
   10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem, and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall.
   11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool - but you did not trust in the one who made it; you did not depend on the one who formed it long ago!
   12 At that time the sovereign master, the LORD who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.
   13 But look, there is outright celebration! You say, "Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep, eat meat and drink wine. Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!"
   14 The LORD who commands armies told me this: "Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live," says the sovereign master, the LORD who commands armies.
   15 This is what the sovereign master, the LORD who commands armies, says: "Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, and tell him:
   16 'What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? Why do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here? He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place, he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
   17 Look, the LORD will throw you far away, you mere man! He will wrap you up tightly.
   18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball and throw you into a wide, open land. There you will die, and there with you will be your impressive chariots, which bring disgrace to the house of your master.
   19 I will remove you from your office; you will be thrown down from your position.
   20 "At that time I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah. 22 I will place the key to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. 23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; he will bring honor and respect to his father's family. 24 His father's family will gain increasing prominence because of him, including the offspring and the offshoots. All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.'
   25 "At that time," says the LORD who commands armies, "the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off." Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

King James Version

   1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
   2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
   3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.
   4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
   5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
   6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
   7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
   8 ¶ And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
   9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
   10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
   11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
   12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
   13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
   14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
   15 ¶ Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
   16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
   17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
   18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
   19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
   20 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
   21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
   22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
   23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
   24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
   25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.