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Isaiah 22

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The Oracle Concerning the Valley of Vision 1–11

1
The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? ​
2
O 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. ​
3
All thy rulers fled away together, they were bound by the archers; all that were found of thee were bound together; they fled afar off.
4
Therefore said I, Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; labor not to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
5
For 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. ​
6
And Elam bare the quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield. ​
7
And it came to pass, that thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.
8
And he took away the covering of Judah; and thou didst look in that day to the armor in the house of the forest. ​
9
And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool;
10
and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye brake down the houses to fortify the wall;
11
ye 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. ​

Reckless Indulgence Instead of Repentance 12–14

12
And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah 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 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. ​

Judgment Against Shebna, the Steward 15–19

15
Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, who is over the house, and say, ​
16
What 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! ​
17
Behold, Jehovah, like a strong man, will hurl thee away violently; yea, he will wrap thee up closely.
18
He 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. ​
19
And I will thrust thee from thine office; and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.

The Appointment of Eliakim 20–25

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; and 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 throne of glory 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, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the flagons.
25
In 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. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 22

Verse 1

the valley of vision — The city is Jerusalem: v.9 names 'the city of David' and v.10 'the houses of Jerusalem'. 'Vision' recalls the opening of the book, 'The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem' (Isa 1:1). The question 'What aileth thee now' is put to a people 'wholly gone up to the housetops', where Moab also howls (Isa 15:3).

Verse 2

a joyous city — Alizah, 'joyous', is the word of Isa 32:13, 'the joyous city', where thorns and briers come up on 'the houses of joy', and of Isa 23:7. 'Tumultuous' (hamah) is the verb of the roaring in Isa 17:12. The slain 'are not slain with the sword': Lam 4:9 says those slain with the sword are better off than those 'slain with hunger'.

Verse 5

a day of trouble, and of treading down — 'Treading down' (mebusah) is the word of 'trodden down' in Isa 18:2, and Hezekiah uses like words of the Assyrian siege, 'This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke' (Isa 37:3). It comes 'by the Lord GOD of hosts'. The cry to the mountains is that of Hos 10:8, which Christ repeats on the road to the cross (Luke 23:30).

Verse 6

Elam bare the quiver — Elam is named as an archer's people: 'I will break the bow of Elam' (Jer 49:35). It was called up against Babylon in Isa 21:2. Kir is the land to which Damascus's people were carried (2 Kgs 16:9), whose people the LORD brought up 'from Kir' (Amos 9:7). Both are shown with weapons ready: the quiver borne, 'the shield' uncovered.

Verse 8

the covering of Judah — To 'discover' (galah) the 'covering' (masak) is to strip off Judah's screen of defence. The people then 'look' to the 'armour of the house of the forest', Solomon's 'house of the forest of Lebanon' (1 Kgs 7:2), where three hundred gold shields were kept (1 Kgs 10:17). They look to their weapons, and verse 11 names the one they did not look to.

Verse 11

the maker thereof — Hezekiah's work on the water is recorded: he 'stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David' (2 Chr 32:30). The charge is that they looked to the works and not to him who 'fashioned' the city 'long ago': 'the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it' (Jer 33:2; cf. Isa 37:26).

Verse 12

baldness, and to girding with sackcloth — The LORD calls for the signs of repentance. 'Baldness' (qorchah) is shaving the head in grief (Mic 1:16), and sackcloth is girded on in Joel 1:13. They are the outward form of what Joel asks for: 'turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning' (Joel 2:12).

Verse 13

let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die — The answer to the call of v.12 is a feast, 'slaying oxen, and killing sheep'. Paul quotes the saying for those who deny the resurrection, 'let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die' (1 Cor 15:32). Isa 56:12 has the same boast, 'to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant'.

Verse 14

it was revealed in mine ears — The prophet is told directly, as in Isa 5:9, 'In mine ears said the LORD of hosts'. 'Purged' is kaphar, to cover or atone: sin 'purged' is Isaiah's own cleansing (Isa 6:7), and what the house of Eli was denied, 'shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever' (1 Sam 3:14).

Verse 15

this treasurer, even unto Shebna — Soken is one who attends a person of rank (the related word is 'cherish' in 1 Kgs 1:2); here it is the title of the steward 'over the house', as Ahishar was 'over the household' under Solomon (1 Kgs 4:6). In Hezekiah's later days Shebna appears as 'the scribe' and Eliakim as 'over the household' (2 Kgs 18:18).

Verse 16

hewed thee out a sepulchre — The man has cut a tomb 'on high', 'in a rock'. Such a place was an honour in Judah: Hezekiah was buried 'in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David' (2 Chr 32:33). The two questions, 'What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here?', ask what place Shebna has to prepare one for himself.

Verse 18

toss thee like a ball — Tsanoph is to wrap or wind round, as a ball is wound and thrown. The 'large country' is wide of hands, as the land in Gen 34:21, 'it is large enough'. 'There shalt thou die' is said with 'there' twice. The 'chariots of thy glory', the display of his office, become 'the shame of thy lord's house'.

Verse 20

my servant Eliakim — Eliakim means 'God will raise up'. He is called 'my servant' (abdi), a title the LORD gives Isaiah (Isa 20:3) and David (Isa 37:35). He holds the post in Hezekiah's reign (2 Kgs 18:18), 'over the household', and is the man the LORD 'will call' to take Shebna's place.

Verse 21

he shall be a father — The robe and girdle are those of the office, passed to Eliakim with 'thy government', the authority of the steward. 'A father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah' is what Joseph became to Pharaoh (Gen 45:8) and Job to the poor (Job 29:16).

Verse 22

the key of the house of David — The key is laid 'upon his shoulder', the place of rule in Isa 9:6, 'the government shall be upon his shoulder'. The authority to open and shut is the one Christ claims in the letter to Philadelphia: 'he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth' (Rev 3:7).

Verse 23

as a nail in a sure place — Yathed is a peg or pin, like the tent-nail of Judg 4:21 and Ezra's 'nail in his holy place' (Ezra 9:8). The peg is driven 'in a sure place' (ne'eman, firm) and bears 'a glorious throne' for his family: v.24 says 'they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house'.

Verse 25

the nail that is fastened in the sure place — The peg that bore all the hanging weight is itself to 'be removed, and be cut down, and fall'. The 'burden' (massa) that was upon it, the word that heads this oracle in v.1, 'shall be cut off'. What was hung on the one family fails with it, 'for the LORD hath spoken it'.