1 T he burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,

The special word about the Valley of Visions: What is wrong, that you have all gone up to the house tops,

2 Y ou who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle.

you who were full of noise, you loud town, you joy-filled city? Your dead were not killed with the sword. They did not die in battle.

3 A ll your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar.

All your rulers have run away together, and were taken without using the bow. All of you who were found were taken away together, even though you had run far away.

4 T herefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”

So I said, “Turn your eyes away from me. Let me cry with much sorrow. Do not try to comfort me about my people being destroyed.”

5 F or it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain.

For the Lord God of All has a day of fear, crushing down, and trouble in the Valley of Vision. There is a breaking down of walls and a crying out to the mountain.

6 E lam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield.

Elam took up the arrows with the war-wagons, soldiers and horsemen. And Kir let the battle-covering be seen.

7 I t shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

Your best valleys were full of war-wagons, and the horsemen took their places at the gate.

8 H e removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest;

Then God took away the safe-covering of Judah. In that day you trusted in the objects you had to fight with that were stored in the house among the trees.

9 Y ou also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

You saw that there were many broken places in the wall of the city of David. You stored water in the lower pool.

10 Y ou numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall.

Then you numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and tore down houses to make the wall stronger.

11 Y ou also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

You made a place to store water between the two walls for the waters of the old pool. But you did not trust in God Who made it. You did not think about Him Who planned it long ago.

12 A nd in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.

So in that day the Lord God of All called you to cry in sorrow, to cut off the hair from your head, and to wear cloth made from hair.

13 B ut instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

But instead, there is joy and happiness, killing of cattle and sheep, eating of meat, and drinking of wine. You say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

14 T hen it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts. The Judgment on Shebna

But the Lord of All has made Himself known to me. The Lord God of All says, “For sure you will not be forgiven for this sin until you die.” Word about Shebna

15 T hus says the Lord God of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the house, and say:

The Lord God of All says, “Come, go to this person in Shebna who is taking care of the king’s house. Say to him,

16 ‘ What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?

‘What right do you have here? Who told you that you could cut out a grave for yourself here? You cut out a grave on a high place! You cut a resting place for yourself in the rock!

17 I ndeed, the Lord will throw you away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you.

See, the Lord will throw you away without pity, O you strong man. He will take a strong hold of you

18 H e will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master’s house.

and roll you up like a ball to be thrown into a wide land. There you will die, and there your great war-wagons will be. You are a shame to your king’s house.’

19 S o I will drive you out of your office, And from your position he will pull you down.

I will throw you out of your place of power. I will take you down from your place.

20 ‘ Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;

In that day I will call My servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.

21 I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah.

I will clothe him with your coat, and tie your belt around him. I will give him the power you had. He will become a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the family of Judah.

22 T he key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Then I will put on his shoulder the rule of the family of David. What he opens, no one will shut. What he shuts, no one will open.

23 I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

I will drive him like a nail in a hard place. He will become a throne of honor to his father’s house.

24 ‘ They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers.

So they will put on him all the honor of his father’s house, and of his children, and every little dish, from the cups to all the jars.

25 I n that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.’”

“In that day,” says the Lord of All, “the nail driven in a hard place will give way. It will break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off. For the Lord has spoken.”