1 The oracle concerning the avalley of vision. What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the bhousetops? 2 You who were full of noise, You boisterous town, you aexultant city; Your slain were bnot slain with the sword, Nor did they die in battle. 3 aAll your rulers have fled together, And have been captured without the bow; All of you who were found were taken captive together, Though they had fled far away. 4 Therefore I say, "Turn your eyes away from me, Let me aweep bitterly, Do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people." 5 aFor the Lord GOD of hosts has a bday of panic, csubjugation and confusion dIn the valley of vision, A breaking down of walls And a crying to the mountain. 6 aElam took up the quiver With the chariots, infantry and horsemen; And bKir 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 defense of Judah. In that day you depended on the weapons of the ahouse of the forest, 9 And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many; And you acollected 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 abetween the two walls For the waters of the bold pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago. 12 Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to aweeping, to wailing, To bshaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. 13 Instead, there is agaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: "bLet us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die." 14 But the Lord of hosts revealed Himself to me, "Surely this ainiquity bshall not be forgiven you cUntil you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts. 15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, To aShebna, who is in charge of the royal household, 16 'What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have ahewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for 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 acast 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 adepose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station. 20 "Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant aEliakim 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 authority, And he will become a afather to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 "Then I will set athe key of the bhouse of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will copen. 23 "I will drive him like a apeg in a firm place, And he will become a bthrone of glory to his father's house. 24 "So they will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 "In that day," declares the Lord of hosts, "the apeg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even bbreak off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the cLord has spoken."