An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem
This section discussed an oracle concerning the valley of vision.
Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
concerning the destruction of
the daughter of my people.”
-Isaiah 22:4
For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
-Isaiah 22:5
Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
He has taken away the covering of Judah.
-Isaiah 22:7-8
That day they looked at the weapons of the House of the Forest, and saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. They collected the waters of the lower pool, and counted the houses in Jerusalem. They broke down the houses to fortify the city.
They made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But they did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
In that day the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
Eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
-Isaiah 22:12-13
The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for
until you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.
-Isaiah 22:14
Then the Lord told them to go to Shebna who was the steward over the household and told him that he would be thrown out into the wide land to die, for bringing shame to his master’s house.
Then they called Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and he was clothed in the robe and sash, and the authority was committed to his hand. He would be father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. The Lord placed on his shoulder the key to the house of David.
An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!
-Isaiah 23:1
When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over
the report about Tyre.
-Isaiah 23:5
The Lord of hosts has purposed it,
to defile the pompous pride of all glory,
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
-Isaiah 23:9
In that day Tyre would be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it would happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
“Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
-Isaiah 23:16
At the end of seventy years, the Lord would visit Tyre, and she would return to her wages and would prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world. Her merchandise and her wages would be holy to the Lord, and would not be stored or hoarded. It would supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwelt before the Lord.
Judgment on the Whole Earth
Behold, the Lord will empty the earth
and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and
scatter its inhabitants.
-Isaiah 24:1
The earth shall be utterly empty
and utterly plundered;
for the Lord has spoken his word.
The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
The earth lies defiled
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
-Isaiah 24:3-6
They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord
they shout from the west.
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea,
give glory to the name of the Lord,
the God of Israel.
From the ends of the earth we hear
songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
-Isaiah 24:14-16
Terror and the pit and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth!
He who feels at the sound of terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
-Isaiah 24:17-19
On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
-Isaiah 24:21
Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for the Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
-Isaiah 24:23
God Will Swallow Up Death Forever
O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you;
I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
-Isaiah 25:1
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
-Isaiah 25:3-4
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever,
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people
he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God;
we have waited for him,
that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
-Isaiah 25:7-9