Isaiah

The “Valley of Vision”aValley of Vision Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Pronouncement.bVerses 1–3 describe a scene of mourning to take place in Jerusalem in the near future. In the ancient Near East, public weeping took place on the low flat roofs as well as in the streets and squares; cf. above, 15.3; Jer. 48.38. What can have happened to youThat you have gone, all of you, up on the roofs,

O you who were full of tumult,You clamorous town,You city so exultant?Your slain are not the slain of the swordNor the dead of battle.cYour slain are … battle I.e., executed, instead of dying in battle.

Your officers have all departed,They fled far away;Your survivors were all taken captive,Taken captive without their bows.dTaken captive without their bows Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

That is why I say, “Let me be,I will weep bitterly.Press not to comfort meFor the ruin of my poor people.”emy poor people Lit. “the young woman, my people.”

For my Sovereign GOD of Hosts had a dayOf tumult and din and confusion—Kir raged in the Valley of Vision,And Shoa on the hill;fKir … Shoa on the hill Meaning of Heb. uncertain. On Kir see 2 Kings 16.9; Amos 1.5; 9.7; on Shoa see Ezek. 23.23.

While Elam bore the quiverIn troops of mounted men,And Kir bared the shield—

And your choicest lowlandsWere filled with chariots and riders:They stormed at Judah’sgJudah’s Moved up from v. 8a for clarity. gatewayhgateway Judah’s gateway is the upper course of the Valley of Elah.

And pressed beyond its screen.iscreen I.e., the fortress Azekah, at the mouth of the gateway, which was captured by the Assyrians. You gave thought on that dayTo the arms in the Forest House,jForest House See 1 Kings 7.2–5; 10.16–17.

And you took note of the many breachesIn the City of David.And you collected the water of the Lower Pool;kAnd you collected the water of the Lower Pool This clause would read well after the prose part of v. 11a.

and you counted the houses of Jerusalem and pulled houses down to fortify the wall;

and you constructed a basin between the two walls for the water of the old pool.But you gave no thought to the One who planned it,You took no note of the One who designed it long before.

My Sovereign GOD of Hosts summoned on that dayTo weeping and lamenting,To tonsuring and girding with sackcloth.

Instead, there was rejoicing and merriment,Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,Eating of meat and drinking of wine:“Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

Then GOD of Hosts was revealed to my ears:“This iniquity shall never be forgiven youUntil you die,” said my Sovereign GOD of Hosts.

Thus said my Sovereign GOD of Hosts: Go in to see that steward, that Shebna, in charge of the palace:

What have you here, and whom have you here,That you have hewn out a tomb for yourself here?—O you who have hewn yourlyour Heb. “his.” tomb on high;O you who have hollowed out for yourselfmyourself Heb. “himself.” an abode in the cliff!

GOD is about to shake youSeverely, fellow,nSeverely, fellow Emendation yields “as a garment is shaken out.” and then wear you like a wrap.owear you like a wrap I.e., walk off with you; cf. Jer. 43.12.

Indeed, [God] will wind you about as a headdress, a turban.pas a headdress, a turban Emendation yields “as a turban is wound about.” Off to a broad land!There shall you die, and there shall be the chariots bearing your body,qchariots bearing your body Emendation yields “abode [cf. v. 16] of your body [cf. 10.3, 16].” O shame of your master’s house!

For I will hurl you from your stationAnd you shall be torn down from your stand.

And in that day, I will summon My servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah,

and I will invest him with your tunic, gird him with your sash, and deliver your authority into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah.

I will place the keys of David’s palace on his shoulders; and what he unlocks none may shut, and what he locks none may open.

He shall be a seat of honor to his father’srfather’s Emendation yields “master’s”; cf. v. 18 end. household. I will fix him as a peg in a firm place,

on which all the substance of his father’ssfather’s See note at verse 23 end. household shall be hung: the sprouts and the leavestthe sprouts and the leaves Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—all the small vessels, from bowls to all sorts of jars.

uApparently continues v. 19. In that day—declares GOD of Hosts—the peg fixed in a firm place shall give way: it shall be cut down and shall fall, and the weight it supports shall be destroyed. For it is GOD who has spoken.