Isaiah 22
22
God’s Message to Jerusalem
1The message about the Valley of Vision:# This probably means a valley near Jerusalem.
What is wrong with you people?
Why are you on your roofs?# In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer.
2This city was a very busy city.
It was full of noise and wild parties.
But your people have been killed,
but not with swords.
They did not die in battle.
3All your leaders ran away together.
But they all have been captured without using a bow.
All you who were captured
tried to run away before the enemy came near.
4So I say, “Don’t look at me.
Let me cry loudly.
Don’t hurry to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, has chosen a special day.
There will be riots and confusion.
People will trample each other in the Valley of Vision.
The city walls will be knocked down.
The people will cry out to the mountain.
6The soldiers from Elam will take their bags of arrows.
Men in chariots and on horses will attack.
Kir will prepare their shields.
7Your nicest valleys will be filled with chariots.
Horsemen will be ordered to guard the gates of the city.
8The walls protecting Judah will fall.
At that time the people of Jerusalem depended on
the weapons kept at the Palace of the Forest.
9You saw that the walls of Jerusalem
had many cracks that needed repairing.
You stored up water in the lower pool.
10You counted the houses of Jerusalem.
You tore them down to fix the walls with their stones.
11You made a pool between the two walls.
It was to save water from the old pool.
But you did not trust the God who made these things.
You did not respect the One who planned them long ago.
12The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, told the people
to cry and be sad.
He told them to shave their heads and wear rough cloth.
13But look. The people are happy.
There are wild parties.
They kill the cattle and the sheep.
They eat the food and drink the wine.
They say, “Let us eat and drink,
because tomorrow we will die.”
14The Lord of heaven’s armies said to me: “You people will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, said this.
God’s Message to Shebna
15This is what the Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, says:
“Go to this servant Shebna.
He is the manager of the palace.
16Say to him, ‘What are you doing here?
Who said you could cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place?
Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock?
17Look, mighty man! The Lord will throw you away.
He will take firm hold of you.
18He will roll you tightly into a ball
and throw you into another country.
There you will die.
Your fine chariots will remain there.
You are a disgrace to your master’s house.
19I will force you out of your important job here.
You will be thrown down from your important place.’
20“At 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 belt. I will give him the important job you have. He will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and the family of Judah. 22I will put the key to the house of David 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 an honored chair in his father’s house. I will make him strong like a peg that is hammered into a strong board. 24All the honored and important things of his family will depend on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on him.
25“At that time,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies, “the peg hammered into the strong board will weaken. It will break and fall. And everything hanging on it will be destroyed.” The Lord says this.
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Isaiah 22: ICB
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Isaiah 22
22
Trouble in Vision Valley
1This is a message about Vision Valley:#22.1 Vision Valley: The exact location is not known. In Hebrew the name sounds something like “Hinnom Valley,” where the people of Jerusalem sometimes offered human sacrifices to the gods of Canaan.
Why are you celebrating
on the flat roofs#22.1 flat roofs: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth.
of your houses?
2Your city is filled
with noisy shouts.
Those who lie drunk
in your streets
were not killed in battle.
3Your leaders ran away,
but they were captured
without a fight.
No matter how far they ran,
they were found and caught.#22.3 No matter … caught: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4Then I said, “Leave me alone!
Let me cry bitter tears.
My people have been destroyed,
so don't try to comfort me.”
5The Lord All-Powerful
had chosen a time
for noisy shouts and confusion
to fill Vision Valley,
and for everyone to beg
the mountains for help.#22.5 and for … help: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6The people of Elam and Kir#22.6 Elam and Kir: Regions in the Iranian highlands.
attacked with chariots#22.6 chariots: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and carried shields.
7Your most beautiful valleys
were covered with chariots;
your cities were surrounded
by cavalry troops.
8Judah was left defenseless.
At that time you trusted in the weapons you had stored in Forest Palace.#22.8 Forest Palace: Built by Solomon (1 Kings 7.2) and used as a place for storing weapons. 9You saw the holes in the outer wall of Jerusalem, and you brought water from the lower pool.#22.9 the lower pool: Mentioned only here; probably in the southern part of the Central Valley (Tyropoean Valley) of Jerusalem. 10You counted the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some of them, so you could get stones to repair the city wall. 11Then you built a large tank between the walls#22.11 between the walls: Some cities had two walls with a space between them. If the enemy broke through the outer wall, the city was still protected by the inner wall. The houses that were torn down to repair the outer wall were probably squatters' huts that had been built between the two walls. to store the water. But you refused to trust the God who planned this long ago and made it happen.
A Time To Weep
12When all of this happened,
the Lord All-Powerful told you
to weep and mourn,
to shave your heads,
and wear sackcloth.
13 #
1 Co 15.32. But instead, you celebrated
by feasting on beef and lamb
and by drinking wine,
because you said,
“Let's eat and drink today!
Tomorrow we may die.”
14The Lord All-Powerful
has spoken to me
this solemn promise:
“I won't forgive them for this,
not as long as they live.”
Selfish Officials Are Doomed
15The Lord All-Powerful is sending me with this message for Shebna, the prime minister:
16Shebna, what gives you the right to have a tomb carved out of rock in this burial place of royalty? None of your relatives are buried here. 17You may be powerful, but the Lord is about to snatch you up and throw you away. 18He will roll you into a ball and throw you into a wide open country, where you will die and your chariots will be destroyed. You're a disgrace to those you serve.
19The Lord is going to take away your job! 20-21He will give your official robes and your authority to his servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
Eliakim will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the royal family of Judah. 22#Rev 3.7. The Lord will put him in charge of the key that belongs to King David's family. No one will be able to unlock what he locks, and no one will be able to lock what he unlocks. 23The Lord will make him as firm in his position as a tent peg hammered in the ground, and Eliakim will bring honor to his family.
24His children and relatives will be supported by him, like pans hanging from a peg on the wall. 25That peg is fastened firmly now, but someday it will be shaken loose and fall down. Then everything that was hanging on it will be destroyed. This is what the Lord All-Powerful has promised.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.