Isaiah 22:1–25

¹ This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops, ² O city of commotion, O town of revelry? Your slain did not die by the sword, nor were they killed in battle. ³ All your rulers have fled together, captured without a bow. All your fugitives were captured together, having fled to a distant place. ⁴ Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.” ⁵ For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision— of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains. ⁶ Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield. ⁷ Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the gates. ⁸ He has uncovered the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest. ⁹ You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool. ¹⁰ You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore them down to strengthen the wall. ¹¹ You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago. ¹² On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth. ¹³ But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ¹⁴ The LORD of Hosts has revealed in my hearing: “Until your dying day, this sin of yours will never be atoned for,” says the Lord GOD of Hosts. ¹⁵ This is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “Go, say to Shebna, the steward in charge of the palace: ¹⁶ What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock? ¹⁷ Look, O mighty man! The LORD is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you, ¹⁸ roll you into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain—a disgrace to the house of your master. ¹⁹ I will remove you from office, and you will be ousted from your position. ²⁰ On that day I will summon My servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ²¹ I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority in his hand, and he will be a father to the dwellers of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what… ²³ …