--- title: "Isaiah 22 - Study King James Bible with the biblical illustrator" description: "Read Isaiah 22 with the biblical illustrator commentary. 1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous cit" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/isaiah/22" --- [ Read](/kjv/isaiah/22)[ Commentary](/study/isaiah/22)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/isaiah/22) Audio 1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain *men are* not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. 3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, *which* have fled from far.* 4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.* 5 For *it is* a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. 6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men *and* horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.* 7 And it shall come to pass, *that* thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.** 8 ¶ And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: 13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. 14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. 15 ¶ Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, *even* unto Shebna, which *is* over the house, *and say*, 16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, *as* he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, *and* that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?* 17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.** 18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee *like* a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory *shall be* the shame of thy lord’s house.* 19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. 20 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him *as* a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.* 25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that *was* upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken *it*. [Isaiah 21](/study/isaiah/21) [Isaiah 23](/study/isaiah/23) ## Commentary To verse 1 [Isaiah 22:1](/kjv/isaiah/22/1) *The burden of the valley of vision* **“The valley of vision”** This expression is applied to Jerusalem, where Jehovah was pleased to give visions concerning His will to His servants. (*B. Blake, B. D.*) **The valley of vision** It is quite in place, in so far as round Jerusalem there are mountains, and the very city, which in relation to the country occupied an elevated position, in relation to the mountains of the immediate neighbourhood appeared to stand on a low level. Because of this two-fold aspect Jerusalem is called ([Jeremiah 21:13](/kjv/jeremiah/21/13)) the “inhabitant of the valley,” and immediately on the back of this the “rock of the plain,” and ([Jeremiah 17:3](/kjv/jeremiah/17/3)) the “mountain in the fields,” whereas [Zephaniah 1:11](/kjv/zephaniah/1/11)) not all Jerusalem, but a part of it (probably the ravine of the Tyropaeum) is called the mortar, or as we say, basin. If we add to this that Isaiah’s house was situated in the lower city, and that therefore the point of view from which the epithet was applied was there, the expression is perfectly appropriate. (*F. Delitzsch.*) **Jerusalem, the valley of vision** Furthermore, the epithet is intended to be more than geographical. A valley is a lonely, quiet depression, shut in and cut off by mountains. Similarly is Jerusalem the sheltered, peaceful place, closed against the world, which Jehovah has chosen in order to show there to His prophets the secrets of His government of the world. (*F. Delitzsch.*) **The valley of vision spiritualised** Where Bibles and ministers are, there is a valley of vision, from which is expected fruit accordingly. (*M. Henry.*) **The inexpiable sin of Jerusalem** The key to this passage ([Isaiah 22:1-14](/kjv/isaiah/22/1-14))--the most lurid and minatory of all Isaiah’s prophecies--is theirreconcilable antagonism between the mood of the prophet and the state of public feeling around him. In a time of universal mirth and festivity he alone is overwhelmed with grief and refuses to be comforted. In the rejoicings of the populace he reads the evidence of their hopeless impenitence and insensibility, and he concludes his discourse by expressing the conviction that at last they have sinned beyond the possibility of pardon. The circumstances recall our Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem on the day of His triumphal entry. (*J. Skinner, D. D.*) **The historical allusion** It may be regarded as certain that the prophecy belongs to the period of Sennacherib’s invasion (701), although it is difficult to select a moment when all the elements of the highly complex situation with which it deals might have been combined. There is just one incident that seems to meet the requirements of the case, namely, the raising of the blockade of Jerusalem, in consequence of Hezekiah’s ignominious submission to the terms of Sennacherib. It must be noted that this was not the last episode in that memorable campaign. The real crisis came a little later when the Assyrian king endeavoured by threats to extort the entire surrender of the capital. It was only at that juncture that Hezekiah unreservedly accepted the policy of implicit trust in Jehovah which Isaiah had all along urged on him; and it was then that the prophet stepped to the front with an absolute and unconditional assurance that Jerusalem should not be violated. That the earlier deliverance should have caused an outbreak of popular joy is intelligible enough; as it is also intelligible that Isaiah should have kept his eye fixed on the dangers yet ahead. The allusions to the recent blockade are amply accounted for, and the prophet’s expectation of a terrible disaster yet in store is obviously based on his view of the continued and aggravated impenitence of his countrymen. (*J. Skinner, D. D.*) **What aileth thee now?**-- **A mad holiday** In these words we can hear the old man addressing his fickle child, whose changefulness by this time he knew so well. We see him standing at his door watching this ghastly holiday. “What are you rejoicing at in such an hour as this, when you have not even the bravery of your soldiers to celebrate, when you are without that pride which has brought songs from the lips of a defeated people as they learned that their sons had fallen with their faces to the foe, and has made even the wounds of the dead borne through the gate lips of triumph, calling to festival?” (*Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.*) **A new year’s question** ** I.**It specially designates “THEE.” There is an identity in human experience. But there is at the same time an intense personality in each one of us, secrets in our experience--secret struggles, failures, motives, emotions. ** II.**A SPECIFIC TIME--“NOW.” Not the past--or the future--but the present. ** III.**THE AILMENT. ** IV.**THE QUERY is suggestive, as though the prophet’s inquiries were made with a view to a remedy. What is the specific for the ailment? Wealth, etc.? No! personal salvation. 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