22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision:
What is the reason
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
22:2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry.
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle.
22:3 All your leaders ran away together –
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees were captured together –
they were captured without a single arrow being shot.
22:4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me!
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.”
22:5 For the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion.
In the Valley of Vision people shout
and cry out to the hill.
22:6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen;
the men of Kir prepared the shield.
22:7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots;
horsemen confidently took their positions at the gate.
22:8 They removed the defenses of Judah.
At that time you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest.
22:9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the city of David;
you stored up water in the lower pool.
22:10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem,
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall.
22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool –
but you did not trust in the one who made it;
you did not depend on the one who formed it long ago!
22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth.
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration!
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.
22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:
“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, and tell him:
22:16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here?
Why do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?
He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,
he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
22:17 Look, the Lord will throw you far away, you mere man!
He will wrap you up tightly.
22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land.
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots,
which bring disgrace to the house of your master.
22:19 I will remove you from your office;
you will be thrown down from your position.
22:20 “At that time I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 22:21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah. 22:22 I will place the key to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it.