Isaiah 22

1The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

1A message concerning the Valley of Vision: What is wrong with you now? Why has everyone gone up to the rooftops?

2O thou that art full of shoutings, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; thy slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.

2You were a city full of noise and shouting, a town full of celebration. But your dead were not killed by the sword; they did not die in battle.

3All thy rulers fled away together, they were bound by the archers; all that were found of thee were bound together; they fled afar off.

3All your leaders have run away together; they were captured without even using a bow. All of you who were found have been taken prisoner together, even though you fled far away.

4Therefore said I, Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; labor not to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

4That is why I said, 'Look away from me; let me cry bitterly. Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of my people.'

5For it is a day of discomfiture, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.

5For the Lord, the LORD of Armies, has a day of panic, trampling, and confusion in the Valley of Vision. Walls are being broken down, and the cry for help echoes to the mountains.

6And Elam bare the quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield.

6The soldiers from Elam took up their quivers, coming with chariots and horsemen, and the soldiers from Kir uncovered their shields.

7And it came to pass, that thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.

7Your most beautiful valleys were filled with chariots, and horsemen took their positions at the city gates.

8And he took away the covering of Judah; and thou didst look in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.

8He removed the defenses of Judah. On that day, you looked to the weapons stored in the Palace of the Forest.

9And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool;

9You saw that there were many cracks in the walls of the City of David. You collected the water of the Lower Pool.

10and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye brake down the houses to fortify the wall;

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

11ye made also a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But ye looked not unto him that had done this, neither had ye respect unto him that purposed it long ago.

11You built a reservoir between the two walls to hold the water from the Old Pool. But you did not look to the One who made it, and you did not consider the One who planned it long ago.

12And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

12On that day, the Lord, the LORD of Armies, called for you to weep and mourn, to shave your heads and wear sackcloth.

13and, 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.

13Instead, look! There is joy and celebration. You are slaughtering cattle and killing sheep; you are eating meat and drinking wine. You say, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!'

14And Jehovah of hosts revealed himself in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you till ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

14The LORD of Armies revealed this to me: 'Truly, this sin will not be forgiven you until the day you die,' says the Lord, the LORD of Armies.

15Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

15This is what the Lord, the LORD of Armies, says: 'Go to this official, to Shebna, the palace supervisor, and say to him:

16What doest thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock!

16What right do you have here, and who are your relatives here, that you have cut out a tomb for yourself? You are cutting a tomb out on the heights and carving a resting place for yourself in the rock!

17Behold, Jehovah, like a strong man, will hurl thee away violently; yea, he will wrap thee up closely.

17Look, the LORD is about to seize you and throw you away violently, you strong man. He will grab you firmly.

18He will surely wind thee round and round, and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of thy lord’s house.

18He will roll you up like a ball and toss you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will stay. You are a disgrace to your master’s house!

19And I will thrust thee from thine office; and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.

19I will remove you from your office and pull you down from your position.

20And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

20On that day, I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

21and 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.

21I will dress him in your robe, tie your sash around him, and hand your authority over to him. He will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.

22And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

22I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder. What he opens, no one will shut; and what he shuts, no one will open.

23And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father’s house.

23I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a seat of honor for his father’s family.

24And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the flagons.

24They will hang on him all the weight of his father’s family—the children and the relatives—all the small vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

25In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall the nail that was fastened in a sure place give way; and it shall be hewn down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for Jehovah hath spoken it.

25On that day,' says the LORD of Armies, 'the peg that was driven into a firm place will give way. It will be cut down and fall, and everything hanging on it will be destroyed.' For the LORD has spoken.