Discovery BoxIsaiah 22:5-13
Context22:5 For the sovereign master, 1 the Lord who commands armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. 2
In the Valley of Vision 3 people shout 4
and cry out to the hill. 5
22:6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen; 6
the men of Kir 7 prepared 8 the shield. 9
22:7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots; 10
horsemen confidently took their positions 11 at the gate.
22:8 They 12 removed the defenses 13 of Judah.
At that time 14 you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest. 15
22:9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the city of David; 16
you stored up water in the lower pool.
22:10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem, 17
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall. 18
22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool –
but you did not trust in 19 the one who made it; 20
you did not depend on 21 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
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! 23
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 24
[22:5] 1 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[22:5] 2 tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[22:5] 3 tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.
[22:5] 4 tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.
[22:5] 5 sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.
[22:6] 6 tn Heb “[with] the chariots of men, horsemen.”
[22:6] 7 sn A distant region in the direction of Mesopotamia; see Amos 1:5; 9:7.
[22:6] 8 tn Heb “Kir uncovers” (so NAB, NIV).
[22:6] 9 sn The Elamites and men of Kir may here symbolize a fierce army from a distant land. If this oracle anticipates a Babylonian conquest of the city (see 39:5-7), then the Elamites and men of Kir are perhaps viewed here as mercenaries in the Babylonian army. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:410.
[22:7] 11 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[22:7] 12 tn Heb “taking a stand, take their stand.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. The translation attempts to bring out this emphasis with the adverb “confidently.”
[22:8] 16 tn Heb “he,” i.e., the enemy invader. NASB, by its capitalization of the pronoun, takes this to refer to the Lord.
[22:8] 18 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of v. 12.
[22:8] 19 sn Perhaps this refers to a royal armory, or to Solomon’s “House of the Forest of Lebanon,” where weapons may have been kept (see 1 Kgs 10:16-17).
[22:9] 21 tn Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”
[22:10] 26 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:10] 27 tn Heb “you demolished the houses to fortify the wall.”
[22:11] 31 tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”
[22:11] 32 tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.
[22:11] 33 tn Heb “did not see.”
[22:12] 36 tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.
[22:13] 41 tn Heb “happiness and joy.”
[22:13] 42 tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.
