Isaiah 22:7-25 ▼

7 And it will come about that your choicest valleys will be filled with chariots, and horsemen will take their positions at the gates.

8 He has uncovered the defenses of Judah.| At that time, you looked at the arsenal of the Palace of the Forest,

9 and saw that there were many breaches in the City of David. So you stored up water from the Lower Pool,

10 counted the houses of Jerusalem, tore down certain houses to strengthen the wall,

11 and built a reservoir between the walls to store water from the Old Pool. But you did not look at the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it long ago.

12 On that day the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies called for weeping and mourning, for shaving heads and wearing sackcloth.

13 But look! There is joy and festivity, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. |Let us eat and drink, you say, because we die tomorrow.|

14 |Nevertheless, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has revealed himself to my hearing: '|Surely because of you this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,' says the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies.|

15 This is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies says: |Come, go to this steward, to Shebna who is in charge of the household, and ask him:

16 What are you doing here, and who are your relatives here that you could carve out a grave for yourself here—cutting out a tomb at the choicest location, chiseling out a resting place for yourself out of solid rock?

17 Look Out! The LORD is about to hurl you away violently, my strong fellow! He will fold you up completely,

18 rolling you up tightly like a ball and throwing you into a large country. There you will die, and there your splendid chariots will lie. You're a disgrace to your master's house!

19 I will depose you from your office, ousting you from your position.

20 |At that time, I'll call for my servant, Hilkiah's son Eliakim,

21 and I'll clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him. I'll transfer your authority to him, and he'll be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

22 |I'll place on his shoulder the key to the house of David—what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open.

23 I'll set him like a peg into a secure place; he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.

24 The entire reputation of his father's house will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its smaller vessels, from the cups to all the jars.

25 At that time,| declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, |the peg that was driven into a secure place will give way; it will be sheared and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.| The LORD has spoken.