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Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Isaiah 22

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation.

Old Testament

Isaiah 22

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

2You 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.

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

4Therefore 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.

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

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

7Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.

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

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

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

11You 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 planned it long ago.

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

13and behold, there is joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”

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

15The Lord, GOD of Armies says, “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!”

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

18He 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 disgrace of your lord’s house.

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

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

21and 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.

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

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

24They 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 the LORD 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 the LORD has spoken it.”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation. Read Isaiah 22 within the complete Isaiah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Isaiah 22

Isaiah 22 contains 25 verses and about 610 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 25 closes: ““In that day,” says the LORD 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…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, house, armies, away, down, together. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Isaiah 22

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Isaiah 22:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer