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The Valley of Vision

¹ The ^(F1)oracle concerning the ^(C1)valley of vision.

What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the ^(C2)housetops?

² You who were full of noise,
You boisterous town, you ^(C1)exultant city;
Your slain were ^(C2)not slain with the sword,
Nor ^(F1)did they die in battle.

^3 (C1)All your rulers have fled together,
And have been captured ^(F1)without the bow;
All of you who were found were taken captive together,
^(F2)Though they had fled far away.

⁴ Therefore I say, "Turn your eyes away from me,
Let me ^(C1)weep bitterly,
Do not ^(F1)try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."

^5 (C1)For the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts has a ^(C2)day of panic, ^(C3)subjugation and confusion
^(C4)In the valley of vision,
A breaking down of walls
And a crying ^(F2)to the mountain.

^6 (C1)Elam took up the quiver
With the chariots, ^(F1)infantry and horsemen;
And ^(C2)Kir uncovered the shield.

⁷ Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.

⁸ And He removed the ^(F1)defense of Judah.
In that day you ^(F2)depended on the weapons of the ^(C1)house of the forest,

⁹ And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you ^(C1)collected the waters of the lower pool.

¹⁰ Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And tore down houses to fortify the wall.

¹¹ And you made a reservoir ^(C1)between the two walls
For the waters of the ^(C2)old pool.
But you did not ^(F1)depend on Him who made it,
Nor did you ^(F2)take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

¹² Therefore in that day the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts called you to ^(C1)weeping, to wailing,
To ^(C2)shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.

¹³ Instead, there is ^(C1)gaiety and gladness,
Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,
Eating of meat and drinking of wine:
"^(C2)Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die."

¹⁴ But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself ^(F1)to me,
"Surely this ^(C1)iniquity ^(C2)shall not be ^(F2)forgiven you
^(C3)Until you die," says the Lord ^(F3)GOD of hosts.

¹⁵ Thus says the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts,

"Come, go to this steward,
To ^(C1)Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,

¹⁶ 'What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have ^(C1)hewn a tomb for yourself here,
You who hew a tomb on the height,
You who carve a resting place for ^(F1)yourself in the rock?

¹⁷ 'Behold, the LORD is about to hurl you headlong, O man.
And He is about to grasp you firmly

¹⁸ And roll you tightly like a ball,
To be ^(C1)cast into a vast country;
There you will die
And there your splendid chariots will be,
You shame of your master's house.'

¹⁹ "I will ^(C1)depose you from your office,
And ^(F1)I will pull you down from your station.

²⁰ "Then it will come about in that day,
That I will summon My servant ^(C1)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

²¹ And I will clothe him with your tunic
And tie your sash securely about him.
I will entrust him with your ^(F1)authority,
And he will become a ^(C1)father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

²² "Then I will set ^(C1)the key of the ^(C2)house of David on his shoulder,
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will ^(C3)open.

²³ "I will drive him like a ^(C1)peg in a firm place,
And he will become a ^(C2)throne of glory to his father's house.