1The burden of the valley of vision . What aileth thee now , that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops ? 2Thou that art full of stirs , a tumultuous city , a joyous city : thy slain men are not slain with the sword , nor dead in battle . 3All 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 . 4Therefore 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 . 5For 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 . 6And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen , and Kir uncovered the shield . 7And 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 Call to Repentance
8And he discovered the covering of Judah , and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest . 9Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David , that they are many : and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool . 10And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem , and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall . 11Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool : but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago . 12And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping , and to mourning , and to baldness , and to girding with sackcloth : 13And behold joy and gladness , slaying oxen , and killing sheep , eating flesh , and drinking wine : let us eat and drink ; for to morrow we shall die . 14And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts , Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die , saith the Lord GOD of hosts .
The Judgment on Shebna
15Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts , Go , get thee unto this treasurer , even unto Shebna , which is over the house , and say , 16What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here , as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high , and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock ? 17Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity , and will surely cover thee. 18He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country : there shalt thou die , and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house . 19And I will drive thee from thy station , and from thy state shall he pull thee down . 20And it shall come to pass in that day , that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah : 21And I will clothe him with thy robe , and strengthen him with thy 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 . 22And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder ; so he shall open , and none shall shut ; and he shall shut , and none shall open . 23And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place ; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house . 24And 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 . 25In 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 .