| 1 Prophecy on the Valley of Vision: Now what is the matter with you for you al to be up on thehousetops, | |
| 2 ful of excitement, boisterous town, joyful city? Your slain have not fal en to the sword nor died in battle. | |
| 3 Your leaders have al fled together, captured without a bow between them, al who could be found havebeen captured at a blow, far though they had fled. | |
| 4 That is why I said, 'Turn your eyes away from me, let me weep bitterly; do not try to comfort me overthe ruin of the daughter of my people.' | |
| 5 For this is a day of rout, panic and confusion, the work of the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth in the Val ey ofVision. The wal is sapped, cries for help ring out to the mountains. | |
| 6 Elam has picked up his quiver, with manned chariots and horsemen, and Kir has bared his shield. | |
| 7 Your fairest val eys are full of chariots and the horsemen take up positions at the gates; | |
| 8 thus falls the defence of Judah. That day you turned your gaze to the weapons in the House of theForest. | |
| 9 You saw how many breaches there were in the City of David. You col ected the waters of the lowerpool. | |
| 10 You surveyed the houses in Jerusalem and pul ed houses down to strengthen the wal . | |
| 11 Between the two wal s you made a reservoir for the waters of the old pool. But you did not look to theCreator of these things, you did not look to the One who fashioned them long ago. | |
| 12 That day the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth cal ed on you to weep and mourn, to shave your heads, to put onsackcloth. | |
| 13 But instead there is joy and merriment, killing of oxen, slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat, drinkingof wine, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shal be dead.' | |
| 14 Then Yahweh Sabaoth revealed this to my ears, 'This guilt wil never be forgiven you, until you aredead,' says the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth. | |
| 15 The Lord Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Go and find that steward, Shebna, the master of the palace: | |
| 16 'What do you own here, who gave you the right for you to hew yourself a tomb here?' He is hewinghimself a tomb, is digging a resting-place for himself in the rock. | |
| 17 But Yahweh wil throw you away, strong as you are, wil grasp you in his grip, | |
| 18 will screw you up into a bal , a ball thrown into a vast space. There you will die, with your splendidchariots, disgrace to your master's palace! | |
| 19 I shal hound you from your office, I shal snatch you from your post | |
| 20 and, when that day comes, I shal summon my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. | |
| 21 I shal dress him in your tunic, I shal put your sash round his waist, I shall invest him with yourauthority; and he wil be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah. | |
| 22 I shal place the key of David's palace on his shoulder; when he opens, no one will close, when hecloses, no one wil open. | |
| 23 I shal drive him like a nail into a firm place; and he wil become a throne of glory for his family. | |
| 24 'On him wil depend al the glory of his family, the descendants and offspring, al the vessels of smalcapacity too, from cups to pitchers. | |
| 25 That day, declares Yahweh Sabaoth, the nail driven into a firm place wil give way, wil be torn out andfal . And the whole load hanging on it will be lost. For Yahweh has spoken.' | |