Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 22:5

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Jerusalem besieged (22:1-25)

In Judah, the land where the prophet had his visions of judgment on other nations, he recalls one of God’s judgments on Judah, namely, the Assyrians’ siege of Jerusalem. On that occasion the city was saved only through the faith of Hezekiah and Isaiah (2 Kings 18:13-37).

Ignoring the gracious intervention of God that had miraculously saved them, the people celebrate as if they had won the victory themselves. Isaiah is disgusted at the light-hearted attitude of the people, particularly when he recalls their cowardly behaviour during the siege. The city’s leading officials fled the doomed city, only to be killed or captured by the enemy (22:1-4).
The prophet describes the scene during the siege. Outside Jerusalem enemy forces spread across the countryside, while battering rams try to smash the city walls. Soldiers hired from various countries are eager to start fighting (5-8a). Inside Jerusalem soldiers rush to the army headquarters for weapons, and there is much activity to save the city’s water supply. Where the city wall is crumbling under the enemy attacks, the Jerusalemites desperately build it up, even demolishing their houses to obtain bricks for the work. But they do not turn to God for help (8b-11).
Other citizens, however, feel sure that Jerusalem will fall. They do nothing to help, but enjoy themselves as much as they can while they can. They show no repentance for the sins that have brought this disaster upon them (12-14).

Shebna, Hezekiah’s chief official, is condemned for using his position for the benefit of himself instead of for the benefit of the people. He loved the honour of a procession of chariots preceding him wherever he went, but now he will be shamefully removed from office. Instead of having a magnificent funeral, he will be buried in disgrace (15-19). His position, which was the top decision-making position in the land after the king, will be taken by Eliakim (20-23). But Eliakim will be used by his relatives and friends for their own advantage, and this will eventually be the cause of his downfall (24-25). (By the time of the siege, Eliakim had already been promoted and Shebna demoted; see 2 Kings 18:18.)

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“For it is a day of discomfiture, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains. And Elam bare the quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield. And it came to pass that thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate. And he took away the covering of Judah; and thou didst look in that day to the armor in the house of the forest. And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that there were many; and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool; and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye brake down the houses to fortify the wall; ye made also a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But ye looked not unto him that had done this, neither had ye respect unto him that purposed it long ago.”

The Babylonian destruction is certainly in view here, for Sennacherib did not break down the walls and destroy the people; but a number of the facts mentioned here apply to the preparations Hezekiah made at a far earlier time when he built a conduit for the water and made other urgent preparations for the assault of Sennacherib. Why? Isaiah strongly implies that the preparations Judah will make for that ultimate destruction will be just like those of Hezekiah, that is, they will depend more upon their own ingenuity and diligence than upon the blessing of Jehovah. That it is actually the “destruction” of Jerusalem that will take place in the event prophesied here is indicated by the words, “God took away the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8), a disaster that did not take place during Sennacherib’s siege, but in that of Babylon. As Kidner put it, “Isaiah with characteristic long sight foretells the fall of Jerusalem a century away (586 B.C.).”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 603

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For it is a day of trouble and of treading down - When our enemies trample on everything sacred and dear to us, and endanger all our best interests (see Psalms 44:6; Luke 21:24).

And of perplexity - In which we know not what to do. We are embarrassed, and know not where to look for relief.

By the Lord God of hosts - That is, he is the efficient cause of all this. It has come upon us under his providence, and by his direction (see the note at Isaiah 10:5).

In the valley of vision - In Jerusalem (see the note at Isaiah 22:1).

Breaking down the walls - There has been much variety in the interpretation of this place. The Septuagint renders it, ‘In the valley of Zion they wander, from the least to the greatest; they wander upon the mountains.’ See a discussion of the various senses which the Hebrew phrase may admit, in Rosenmuller and Gesenius. Probably our common version has given the true sense, and the reference is to the fact that the walls of the city became thrown down, either in the siege or from some other cause. If this refers to the invasion of Sennacherib, though his army was destroyed, and he was unable to take the city, yet there is no improbability in the supposition that he made some breaches in the walls. Indeed this is implied in the account in 2 Chronicles 32:5.

And of crying to the mountains - Either for help, or more probably of such a loud lamentation that it reached the surrounding hills, and was re-echoed back to the city. Or perhaps it may mean that the shout or clamor of those engaged in building or defending the walls, reached to the mountains. Compare Virg. “AEncid,” iv. 668:

- resonat magnis plangoribus aether.

Rosenmuller renders it, ‘A cry - to the mountains!’ That is, a cry among the people to escape to the hills, and to seek refuge in the caves and fastnesses there (compare Judges 6:2; Matthew 24:16; Mark 13:14).

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

5.It is a day of trouble. He again declares that the Lord is the author of this calamity, and that the Jews may not gaze around in all directions, or wonder that their enemies prevail against them, he pronounces that they are fighting against God. Though this doctrine is frequently taught in Scripture, still it is not superfluous, and cannot be so earnestly inculcated as not to be forgotten when we come to practice. The consequence is, that we are not humbled in the presence of our Judge, and that we direct our eyes to outward remedies rather than to God, who alone could cure our distresses. He employs the word day, as is usual in Scripture, to signify an appointed time; for when God winks at the transgressions of men, he appears to make some abatement of the claims of his rank, which, however, he may be said to receive back again at the proper and appointed time.

In the valley of vision. It is not without good reason that he again calls it “the valley of vision,” for the Jews believed that they would be protected against every calamitous event, because the Lord shone on them by the word. But having ungratefully rejected his instruction, they vainly trusted that it would be of avail to them; and indeed the Lord punishes the unbelief of men, not only out of the Church, but within the Church itself; and not only so, but he begins his chastisement at the Church, so that we must not abuse the gifts of God, or vainly glory in his name. (1 Peter 4:17.)

And crying to the mountain. ⁽⁸⁰⁾ This may refer either to God or to the Babylonians, or even to the exiles themselves. Conquerors raise a cry for the sake of increasing terror, and the vanquished either utter what is fitted to awaken compassion, or give vent to their grief by lamentation. The singular number may be taken for the plural, or rather it denotes that part of the city in which the temple was situated. Both meanings will agree well with the context, and it makes little difference whether we say that the enemies cried to Mount Zion, in order to encourage each other, or that, while they were destroying and plundering the city, a cry was heard in the neighboring mountains, or that the citizens themselves caused their lamentations to resound to the mountains which surrounded the plain of Judea. ⁽⁸¹⁾

(80) Bogus footnote

(81) Bogus footnote

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 22

Now in chapter 22 he turns his attention to Jerusalem, which is referred to as the valley of vision. And this is,

The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that you've gone up to the housetops? That you are full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. 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. Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labor not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people ( Isaiah 22:1-4 ).

And so he sees them not being slain with the sword. And in seeing their destruction, he weeps. He said, "Don't try to comfort me, because I'm weeping for the spoiling of the daughter of my people."

For it is a day of trouble, a day 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. And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. And it shall come to pass, that your choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armor of the house of the forest. You have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and you have gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have you broken down to fortify the wall ( Isaiah 22:5-10 ).

Now he is speaking of the preparations that were going on at that moment in Jerusalem in preparing themselves for the threatened invasion by Assyria, which had destroyed the Northern Kingdom, and now Assyria was threatening to come with her armies to destroy Jerusalem. And so Hezekiah the king was making these precautions. First of all, he dug this tunnel some 1,700 feet from the spring of Gihon into the pool of Siloam. Coming under the wall of the city under the area of Ephal there, the old city that... Ephal that came up from the spring of Gihon. And through this rock they dug this tunnel 1,700 feet long because the spring of Gihon has a good head of water that flows through it constantly. And that was one of the major supplies for water in Jerusalem. It happened to be outside of the wall because it was down in the Kidron Valley at the base of Ophel there. And so what they did was dig the tunnel and then they covered over the spring so that the Assyrians would not know the source of the supply of their water. And so they diverted it through this tunnel. Brought it into the pool of Siloam within the gates so that they would have a water supply during the siege of the Assyrians.

And then they took some of the houses and they broke down the walls in order to fortify... the houses, they broke them down to fortify the breaches that were in the walls that were surrounding Jerusalem. And they were just fortifying the city and preparing the city for this coming invasion by Assyria.

You've made a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool ( Isaiah 22:11 ):

And they have done all of these things, but-and this is what the prophet is getting on to their case about. You've done all, fortified the walls, you've dug the pool... the tunnel for the water and so forth,

but you have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had you respect for him that fashioned it ( Isaiah 22:11 ).

In other words, who created the spring of Gihon? Who put the source of water there? You tried to fortify yourself with your own ingenuity, but you haven't really looked to God for your help or for your guidance or for your protection or for your strength.

This is a mistake I think that we oftentimes make, is that we are doing everything in the natural, but we're not doing anything in the supernatural. We're not looking to God. We're not looking for God's strength or God's guidance or God's help. A lot of people today that are doing all kinds of things in storing up foods and trying to prepare themselves for a coming desolation that they envision, and they're not really looking to God. They're not really turning to God for guidance, for help. They're not really trusting in the Lord. They're trusting in their own capacities. And so the prophet finds fault with them for not looking to God.

In that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth ( Isaiah 22:12 ):

Now the baldness was the shaving of their heads as a vow unto God. And God was calling them for a consecration and a commitment unto Him. Now God had said, "If My people, called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, then will I hear from heaven" ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 ). But rather than humbling themselves and praying and seeking God, they were taking every natural precaution that they could, but not taking God into account at all. Now God does expect us to use wisdom and to take natural precautions. But He also wants us to look to Him and to trust in Him. And when God is calling us to times of fasting and prayer and waiting upon Him, then it is manifestly wrong that we seek our own resources for our deliverance. And so when they should be weeping and mourning, girding themselves with sackcloth, they were having parties.

There was the slaying of the oxen, the killing of sheep, the eating of flesh, the drinking of wine: [and they were saying] let us eat, drink [and be merry]; because tomorrow we're going to die ( Isaiah 22:13 ).

Reminds us of the world in which we live today that is faced with one of the greatest crisis in the history of mankind as the superpowers are girding themselves for war. As the United States is diverting more and more of our budget towards a military posture in order that we might counteract the tremendous military build-up by Russia and the military superiority that she has gained. And the superpowers are girding for a super war. And we look around at the scene in America when God is calling for weeping, God is calling for prayer, God is calling for sackcloth. We see the people just blithely going on seeking pleasure, leaving God out of their lives, and it seems to be the attitude, "Eat, drink and be merry, tomorrow we die." And so the prophet comes out against this.

And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity will not be purged until you die ( Isaiah 22:14 ),

There's no cleansing for it. The course is set. The die is cast. They won't change until the judgment comes.

saith the Lord GOD of hosts ( Isaiah 22:15 ).

What a terrible, awesome indictment.

Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, What do you have here and who do you have here, that you have hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and he that graveth a habitation for himself in a rock? Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will cover thee ( Isaiah 22:15-17 ).

Now while all this is going on, here this guy who was the treasurer of the nation was building himself out of the rock a beautiful sepulcher. If you go to Israel in the Kidron Valley you'll see some beautiful sepulchers that were hewn out of the rock there in the Kidron Valley. And this guy was cutting him out one of these fancy sepulchers for himself. And the prophet Isaiah says, "Hey, why are you making yourself a fancy sepulcher here in the land as though you're going to get buried here? You're going to get carried away captive and they're going to cover you someplace else."

You know, people laying up their plans for the future. God's going to interrupt your plans.

He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there you are going to die, and there the chariots of your glory shall be the shame of the lord's house. And I will drive thee from your station, and from your state shall he pull thee down. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: And I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your 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 ( Isaiah 22:18-21 ).

Now Shebna was the treasurer, but Eliakim was also one of Hezekiah's counselors. They were both men of state. And later when the Rabshakeh who is one of the spokesmen for king Sennacherib of Assyria, when he came to bring the... not an edict, but a demand for surrender from king Hezekiah, Eliakim and Shebna were two of the men that dealt in the matters of state. Now, Eliakim evidently was God's choice. Shebna was a foreigner who was usurping a place there, trying to build himself a big tomb to be buried in and all. He said, "You're going to be carried away and buried elsewhere in a large land," and all.

Now in this the two men, Shebna and Eliakim, you have one of these cases where you have a prophecy that is veiled in the near fulfillment and in the far fulfillment. He was dealing with a particular situation. These two men were at that time men of state in Israel. And Shebna was to lose his position and Eliakim was moved in--God's choice. But from a prophetic standpoint, you have here Shebna as a type of the antichrist and Eliakim as the type of Jesus Christ. And even as the antichrist will come and be hailed and seek to ingratiate himself to Israel, yet he will be destroyed and the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, will come and establish the kingdom.

So you have here types of yet the future. And so when you get into verse Isaiah 22:22 , it lapses on out and Jesus picks up verse Isaiah 22:22 when He is talking to the church of Philadelphia. And He is introducing Himself to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation chapter 3 there, "Unto the church of Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth" ( Revelation 3:7 ). So Jesus makes this verse apply to Him. That is why we say that it had an immediate fulfillment, but also it looked down prophetically and yet has a future fulfillment as Jesus takes these very words out of verse Isaiah 22:22 and applies them to Himself.

And the key of the house of David will I lay on his shoulder ( Isaiah 22:22 );

That is Eliakim.

and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 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 ( Isaiah 22:22-23 ).

And so a little light of future burst in and then he comes back to the local situation.

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. 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 22:24-25 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord Himself would bring this fate on Jerusalem. The residents would then panic, be subjugated and confused, and cry to the surrounding mountains for help as the city walls broke down.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For [it is] a day of trouble,.... To Hezekiah, and also Jerusalem, and all the inhabitants of the land:

and of treading down; the people of it by Sennacherib's army, like mire in the streets, when their cities were taken by him:

and of perplexity by the Lord of hosts in the valley of vision; in Jerusalem, besieged, and threatened with desolation; which threw the king and his nobles, and all the inhabitants, into the utmost perplexity, confusion, and distress; and all this was not merely from men, nor was it by chance, but by the permission and appointment of God, to humble his people for their sins, and bring them to a sense and acknowledgment of them:

breaking down the walls: of the fenced cities, with their battering rams, at the time they besieged and took them, 2 Kings 18:13:

and of crying to the mountains: looking and running to them for help and succour, for shelter and protection; and crying so loud, by reason of their distress, as that it reached the distant mountains, and made them echo with it.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is the burden of the valley of vision, of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God, though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision because there God was known and his name was great, there the prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and there the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary. Babylon, being a stranger to God, though rich and great, was called the desert of the sea; but Jerusalem, being entrusted with his oracles, is a valley of vision. Blessed are their eyes, for they see, and they have seers by office among them. Where Bibles and ministers are there is a valley of vision, from which is expected fruit accordingly; but here is a burden of the valley of vision, and a heavy burden it is. Note, Church privileges, if they be not improved, will not secure men from the judgments of God. You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore will I punish you. The valley of vision has a particular burden. Thou Capernaum,Matthew 11:23. The higher any are lifted up in means and mercies the heavier will their doom be if they abuse them.

      Now the burden of the valley of vision here is that which will not quite ruin it, but only frighten it; for it refers not to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but to the attempt made upon it by Sennacherib, which we had the prophecy of, Isaiah 10:1-34; Isaiah 10:1-34, and shall meet with the history of, Isaiah 36:1-22; Isaiah 36:1-22. It is here again prophesied of, because the desolations of many of the neighbouring countries, which were foretold in the foregoing chapters, were to be brought to pass by the Assyrian army. Now let Jerusalem know that when the cup is going round it will be put into her hand; and, although it will not be to her a fatal cup, yet it will be a cup of trembling. Here is foretold,

      I. The consternation that the city should be in upon the approach of Sennacherib's army. It used to be full of stirs, a city of great trade, people hurrying to and fro about their business, a tumultuous city, populous and noisy. Where there is great trade there is great tumult. It used to be a joyous revelling city. What with the busy part and what with the merry part of mankind, places of concourse are places of noise. "But what ails thee now, that the shops are quitted, and there is no more walking in the streets and exchange, but thou hast wholly gone up to the house-tops (Isaiah 22:1; Isaiah 22:1), to bemoan thyself in silence and solitude, or to secure thyself from the enemy, or to look abroad and see if any succours come to thy relief, or which way the enemies' motions are." Let both men of business and sportsmen rejoice as though they rejoiced not, for something may happen quickly, which they little think of, that will be a damp to their mirth and a stop to their business, and send them to watch as a sparrow alone upon the house-top,Psalms 102:7. But why is Jerusalem in such a fright? Her slain men are not slain with the sword (Isaiah 22:2; Isaiah 22:2), but, 1. Slain with famine (so some); for Sennacherib's army having laid the country waste, and destroyed the fruits of the earth, provisions must needs be very scarce and dear in the city, which would be the death of many of the poorer sort of people, who would be constrained to feed on that which was unwholesome. 2. Slain with fear. They were put into this fright though they had not a man killed, but so disheartened themselves that they seemed as effectually stabbed with fear as if they had been run through with a sword.

      II. The inglorious flight of the rulers of Judah, who fled from far, from all parts of the country, to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:3; Isaiah 22:3), fled together, as it were by consent, and were found in Jerusalem, having left their respective cities, which they should have taken care of, to be a prey to the Assyrian army, which, meeting with no opposition, when it came up against all the defenced cities of Judah easily took them,Isaiah 36:1; Isaiah 36:1. These rulers were bound from the bow (so the word is); they not only quitted their own cities like cowards, but, when they came to Jerusalem, were of no service there, but were as if their hands were tied from the use of the bow, by the extreme distraction and confusion they were in; they trembled, so that they could not draw a bow. See how easily God can dispirit men, and how certainly fear will dispirit them, when the tyranny of it is yielded to.

      III. The great grief which this should occasion to all serious sensible people among them, which is represented by the prophet's laying the thing to heart himself; he lived to see it, and was resolved to share with the children of his people in their sorrows, Isaiah 22:4; Isaiah 22:5. He is not willing to proclaim his sorrow, and therefore bids those about him to look away from him; he will abandon himself to grief, and indulge himself in it, will weep secretly, but weep bitterly, and will have none go about to comfort him, for his grief is obstinate and he is pleased with his pain. But what is the occasion of his grief? A poor prophet had little to lose, and had been inured to hardship, when he walked naked and barefoot; but it is for the spoiling of the daughter of his people. It is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity. Our enemies trouble us and tread us down, and our friends are perplexed and know not what course to take to do us a kindness. The Lord God of hosts is now contending with the valley of vision; the enemies with their battering rams are breaking down the walls, and we are in vain crying to the mountains (to keep off the enemy, or to fall on us and cover us) or looking for help to come to us over the mountains, or appealing, as God does, to the mountains, to hear our controversy (Micah 6:1) and to judge between us and our injurious neighbours.

      IV. The great numbers and strength of the enemy, that should invade their country and besiege their city, Isaiah 22:6; Isaiah 22:7. Elam (that is, the Persians) come with their quiver full of arrows, and with chariots of fighting men, and horsemen. Kir (that is, the Medes) muster up their arms, unsheath the sword, and uncover the shield, and get every thing ready for battle, every thing ready for the besieging of Jerusalem. Then the choice valleys about Jerusalem, that used to be clothed with flocks and covered over with corn, shall be full of chariots of war, and at the gate of the city the horsemen shall set themselves in array, to cut off all provisions from going in, and to force their way in. What a condition must the city be in that was beset on all sides with such an army!