Isaiah 22:5

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3 All your rulers have fled together;
They are captured by the archers.
All who are found in you are bound together;
They have fled from afar.

4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me,
^aI will weep bitterly;
Do not labor to comfort me
Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”

5 ^aFor it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity
^bBy the Lord God of hosts
In the Valley of Vision—
Breaking down the walls
And of crying to the mountain.

6 ^aElam bore the quiver
With chariots of men and horsemen,
And ^bKir uncovered the shield.

7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys
Shall be full of chariots,
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

8 ^aHe removed the¹ protection of Judah.
You looked in that day to the armor ^bof the House of the Forest;

9 ^aYou also saw the¹ damage to the city of David,
That it was great;
And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses you broke down
To fortify the wall.

11 ^aYou also made a reservoir between the two walls
For the water of the old ^bpool.
But you did not look to its Maker,
Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts
^aCalled for weeping and for mourning,
^bFor baldness and for girding with sackcloth.

13 But instead, joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Eating meat and ^adrinking wine:
^b“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

14 ^aThen it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,
“Surely for this iniquity there ^bwill be no atonement for you,
Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.

The Judgment on Shebna

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts:
“Go, proceed to this steward,
To ^aShebna, who is over the house, and say:

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

<< Isaiah 22:4

Isaiah 22:6 >>

Isaiah 22:5

For it is a day of trouble and of treading down - When our enemies trample on everything sacred and dear to us, and endanger all our best interests (see Psalms 44:6; Luke 21:24).

And of perplexity - In which we know not what to do. We are embarrassed, and know not where to look for relief.

By the Lord God of hosts - That is, he is the efficient cause of all this. It has come upon us under his providence, and by his direction (see the note at Isaiah 10:5).

In the valley of vision - In Jerusalem (see the note at Isaiah 22:1).

Breaking down the walls - There has been much variety in the interpretation of this place. The Septuagint renders it, ' In the valley of Zion they wander, from the least to the greatest; they wander upon the mountains.' See a discussion of the various senses which the Hebrew phrase may admit, in Rosenmuller and Gesenius. Probably our common version has given the true sense, and the reference is to the fact that the walls of the city became thrown down, either in the siege or from some other cause. If this refers to the invasion of Sennacherib, though his army was destroyed, and he was unable to take the city, yet there is no improbability in the supposition that he made some breaches in the walls. Indeed this is implied in the account in II Chronicles 32:5.

And of crying to the mountains - Either for help, or more probably of such a loud lamentation that it reached the surrounding hills, and was re-echoed back to the city. Or perhaps it may mean that the shout or clamor of those engaged in building or defending the walls, reached to the mountains. Compare Virg. "AEncid," iv. 668:

- resonat magnis plangoribus aether .

Rosenmuller renders it, ' A cry - to the mountains!' That is, a cry among the people to escape to the hills, and to seek refuge in the caves and fastnesses there (compare Judges 6:2; Matthew 24:16; Mark 13:14).

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 22:5:**

2 Chronicles 32:7

<< Isaiah 22:4

Isaiah 22:6 >>

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