Isaiah Chapter 22

Updated: September 14, 2025

The Valley of Vision

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

2Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

3All 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.

4Therefore 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.

5For 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.

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

7And 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.

8And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

9Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

10And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.

11Ye 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.

12And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with 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.

14And 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.

A Message for Shebna

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

16What 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?

17Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.

18He 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.

19And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

20And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the 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.

22And 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.

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

24And 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. 25In 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.

King James Bible

Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

The Valley of Vision

1 The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?

2 You that are full of shouting, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; your slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.

3 All your rulers fled away together. They were bound by the archers. All who were found by you were bound together. They fled far away.

4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me. I will weep bitterly. Don’t labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

5 For it is a day of confusion, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.”

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

7 It happened that your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.

8 He took away the covering of Judah; and you looked in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.

9 You saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.

11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who purposed it long ago.

12 In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth:

13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”

14 Yahweh of Armies revealed himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.

A Message for Shebna

15 Thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, “Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

16 ‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!”

17 Behold, Yahweh will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly.

18 He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you shame of your lord’s house.

19 I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station.

20 It will happen in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your government into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

22 I will lay the key of the house of David on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.

23 I will fasten him like a nail in a sure place. He will be for a throne of glory to his father’s house.

24 They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the pitchers. 25 “In that day,” says Yahweh of Armies, “the nail that was fastened in a sure place will give way. It will be cut down, and fall. The burden that was on it will be cut off, for Yahweh has spoken it.”

The Valley of Vision

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!” a

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.

A Message for Shebna

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 he shuts no one can open. b 23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a throne of glory for the house of his father.

24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the lesser vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.

25 In that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, the peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and fall, and the load upon it will be cut down.”

Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

Footnotes:

13 a Cited in 1 Corinthians 15:32
22 b See Revelation 3:7.

The Valley of Vision

1The burden of the Valley of Vision. What -- to thee, now, that thou hast gone up, All of thee -- to the roofs?

2Full of stirs -- a noisy city -- an exulting city, Thy pierced are not pierced of the sword, Nor dead in battle.

3All thy rulers fled together from the bow, Bound have been all found of thee, They have been kept bound together, Afar off they have fled.

4Therefore I said, 'Look ye from me, I am bitter in my weeping, Haste not to comfort me, For the destruction of the daughter of my people.'

5For a day of noise, and of treading down, And of perplexity, is to the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, In the valley of vision, digging down a wall, And crying unto the mountain.

6And Elam hath borne a quiver, In a chariot of men -- horsemen, And Kir hath exposed a shield.

7And it cometh to pass, The choice of thy valleys have been full of chariots, And the horsemen place themselves diligently at the gate.

8And one removeth the covering of Judah, And thou lookest in that day Unto the armour of the house of the forest,

9And the breaches of the city of David ye have seen, For they have become many, And ye gather the waters of the lower pool,

10And the houses of Jerusalem ye did number, And ye break down the houses to fence the wall.

11And a ditch ye made between the two walls, For the waters of the old pool, And ye have not looked unto its Maker, And its Framer of old ye have not seen.

12And call doth the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, In that day, to weeping and to lamentation, And to baldness and to girding on of sackcloth,

13And lo, joy and gladness, slaying of oxen, And slaughtering of sheep, Eating of flesh, and drinking of wine, Eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.

14And revealed it hath been in mine ears, By Jehovah of Hosts: Not pardoned is this iniquity to you, Till ye die, said the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.

A Message for Shebna

15Thus said the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts: 'Go, enter in unto this steward, Unto Shebna, who is over the house:

16What -- to thee here? And who -- to thee here? That thou hast hewn out to thee here -- a sepulchre? Hewing on high his sepulchre, Graving in a rock a dwelling for himself.

17Lo, Jehovah is casting thee up and down, A casting up and down, O mighty one,

18And thy coverer covering, wrapping round, Wrappeth thee round, O babbler, On a land broad of sides -- there thou diest, And there the chariots of thine honour Are the shame of the house of thy lord.

19And I have thrust thee from thy station, And from thine office he throweth thee down.

20And it hath come to pass, in that day, That I have called to my servant, To Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

21And I have clothed him with thy coat, And with thy girdle I strengthen him, And thy garment I give into his hand, And he hath been for a father to the inhabitant of Jerusalem, And to the house of Judah.

22And I have placed the key Of the house of David on his shoulder, And he hath opened, and none is shutting, And hath shut, and none is opening.

23And I have fixed him a nail in a stedfast place, And he hath been for a throne of honour To the house of his father.

24And they have hanged on him All the honour of the house of his father, The offspring and the issue, All vessels of small quality, From vessels of basins to all vessels of flagons. 25In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, Moved is the nail that is fixed In a stedfast place, Yea, it hath been cut down, and hath fallen, And cut off hath been the burden that is on it, For Jehovah hath spoken!'

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The F.O.G Commentary

When God’s Party Gets Crashed

What’s Isaiah 22 about?

Jerusalem is throwing a rooftop party while enemy armies surround the city, and Isaiah is absolutely appalled by their denial and misplaced priorities. It’s a sobering look at what happens when we celebrate in the face of judgment and miss the point entirely about what God is trying to teach us.

The Full Context

Isaiah 22 sits right in the middle of Isaiah’s “oracles against the nations” – those prophecies in chapters 13-23 where God addresses various countries and their coming judgments. But here’s what makes this chapter different: this isn’t about Babylon or Egypt or any foreign power. This is about Jerusalem itself, God’s own city, and it’s personal.

The historical backdrop is likely the Assyrian siege under Sennacherib around 701 BC, when Jerusalem was miraculously delivered after King Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19). You’d think the city would respond with humility and gratitude, right? Instead, Isaiah sees people partying on their rooftops like they just won the lottery, completely missing the spiritual gravity of what just happened. The literary structure moves from the prophet’s anguish (Isaiah 22:1-4) to God’s perspective on the crisis (Isaiah 22:5-14), and finally to a specific word about Shebna, a government official who epitomizes the city’s misplaced priorities (Isaiah 22:15-25). The key tension throughout is between human celebration and divine expectation – what happens when God’s people completely misread the moment.

What the Ancient Words Tell Us

The Hebrew in Isaiah 22:1 calls Jerusalem “gê’ hizzāyôn” – literally “the valley of vision.” Now that’s ironic, isn’t it? This is the city where prophets receive visions from God, yet here they are completely blind to what’s actually happening. The people have all gone up to their rooftops – not to pray or seek God, but to party.

Grammar Geeks

The Hebrew word “śāśôn” in verse 2 means exuberant joy, the kind you’d have at a wedding or festival. But here it’s tragically misplaced – like celebrating at a funeral. The intensity of this word makes Isaiah’s horror even more pronounced.

When Isaiah says “I will weep bitterly” in verse 4, he uses “mārar” – the same root word used for the bitter herbs at Passover. This isn’t just sadness; this is the kind of deep, gut-wrenching grief that comes from watching people you love make devastating choices.

The phrase “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” in verse 13 became so famous that Paul quotes it in 1 Corinthians 15:32. But here’s what’s chilling – these aren’t pagans talking. These are God’s people who should know better, choosing hedonism over humility in their moment of deliverance.

What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?

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What is the F.O.G?

Picture this: you’re living in Jerusalem during one of the most terrifying sieges in the city’s history. The Assyrian war machine – the ancient world’s equivalent of Nazi Germany – has your city surrounded. People are dying. Food is running out. Then suddenly, miraculously, the siege breaks. The enemy retreats. You’re alive!

Did You Know?

Archaeological evidence from this period shows that Jerusalem’s population had swelled to maybe 5-6 times its normal size as refugees fled the Assyrian advance. When the siege lifted, the relief would have been absolutely overwhelming – imagine New York City after 9/11, but everyone celebrating instead of reflecting.

But here’s what the original audience would have understood that we might miss: in their culture, when God delivered you from enemies, the proper response was “teshuvah” – repentance, returning to God with humility and gratitude. You were supposed to ask, “What was God trying to teach us through this crisis?”

Instead, they threw parties. They fixed their walls and filled their water reservoirs (verses 8-11), basically saying, “Great! Now we’re better prepared for next time!” They treated God’s miraculous intervention as their own military victory.

Wrestling with the Text

Here’s what bothers me about this passage, and maybe it bothers you too: isn’t celebrating deliverance a good thing? When God saves you from disaster, shouldn’t you be happy?

The issue isn’t the celebration itself – it’s the complete absence of recognition that God was behind their deliverance. Look at verse 11: “You did not look to the one who made it, or have regard for the one who planned it long ago.”

“They celebrated the miracle but ignored the miracle-worker.”

This hits different when you realize that God allowed the crisis in the first place. Verse 5 calls it “a day of tumult and trampling and confusion from the Lord GOD of hosts.” The siege wasn’t just enemy aggression – it was God’s way of getting Jerusalem’s attention.

But instead of soul-searching, they went shopping. Instead of repentance, they went to parties. It’s like getting a cancer diagnosis, having it miraculously disappear, and then never changing your lifestyle or thanking the doctor.

How This Changes Everything

The scariest verse in this whole chapter might be verse 14: “The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: ‘Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die.’” That’s God saying, “This attitude of yours? This treating my deliverance as your victory? This is going to have consequences.”

Wait, That’s Strange…

Why would God be more angry about their celebration than about their original sins? Because celebration without recognition shows a heart that’s fundamentally unchanged. It’s not just missing the point – it’s being determined to miss the point.

This completely reframes how we think about answered prayers and divine intervention. When God moves in our lives – whether it’s healing, provision, deliverance from a bad situation – our first response reveals everything about our relationship with Him.

The story of Shebna in verses 15-25 drives this home. Here’s a government official so focused on building his own legacy (literally carving out an elaborate tomb) that he misses his role as a servant of God’s purposes. God says He’ll “hurl you away violently” and replace him with Eliakim, someone who will be “a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

But even Eliakim’s story has a twist – verse 25 suggests that eventually he too will fall. The point isn’t finding the perfect leader; it’s recognizing that only God deserves ultimate trust.

Key Takeaway

The way we respond to God’s deliverance reveals whether we’re truly His people or just hoping He’s our good-luck charm. Celebration without recognition is just another form of rebellion.

Isaiah Chapter 22

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