Isaiah 22:11
in Isaiah 22You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
Ye 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 22
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ye made also a ditch - That is, they made a “reservoir” to retain the water. The word ‘ditch,’ however, will well describe the character of the pool of Gihon on the west side of the city (see the notes at Isa 7:3). Between the two walls for the water of the old pool - Hezekiah built one of these walls himself (2Ch 32:5, 2Ch 32:30; compare 2Ki 25:5, and Jer 39:4). Between these two walls the water would be collected so as to be accessible to the inhabitants of the city in case of a siege.
This site's exposition
You saw that there were many breaches
on Isaiah 22:9-11
Seeing "many breaches in the walls of the City of David", the people "collected water from the lower pool". They "built a reservoir", works that match those of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32. Yet "you did not look to the One who made it".
This site's exposition
you did not look to the One who made it
Clarke and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it as the danger itself, planned by God from a distant time. Isaiah 37:26 says the same to Sennacherib, that God ordained this long ago and planned it in days of old. The siege had an author.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Vers. 10, 11.) And you gathered the waters of the lower pool, and you numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and you destroyed houses to build a wall. And you made a reservoir between two walls, and the water of the old pool. And you did not look to Him who made it, and the worker of it from afar you did not see. LXX: And they turned the water of the old pool into the city, and they destroyed the houses of Jerusalem to strengthen the city wall. And you made water between two walls within the old pool, and you did not look to Him who made it from the beginning, and you did not see its creator. You who know the divisions of the city of David, that is, the Church, will see or have seen, which have multiplied throughout the world; you who have gathered the waters of your pool and your doctrine, not of the higher, but of the lower, and have counted the houses of Jerusalem, whether you have destroyed them to fortify your wall, you have not dug wells that would have had life-giving and eternal water, but broken cisterns that cannot hold water. And you have made them between the two walls of the old and new covenant, and you have neglected the water of the old pool, and you have not considered the giver of the law, God, and you have completely neglected the operator of the world. This is according to the Hebrew. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the heretics considered themselves many, and with this confidence, they turned the teaching of the old Testament away from the city of God, which is the Church, and destroyed the houses of Jerusalem, in order to build meeting places of the wicked; and while they reject the old Testament, they have not followed the new, because the new is confirmed by the testimonies of the old Testament. […]
(Vers. 10, 11.) And you gathered the waters of the lower pool, and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you destroyed houses to fortify the wall. And you made a reservoir between the two walls, and the water of the Old Pool. And you did not look to the One who made it, and you did not see the One who fashioned it from afar.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And you made a lake, of the lower pool, to flow between the two walls, which encircled the city, and the water, namely, you have restored; nor regarded him, namely, God, that wrought it, the water: they have not called upon God (Ps 13:5[14:4]).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Ye made also a ditch between the two walls,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
SMITH translates, "Him who doeth it," that is, has brought this danger on you--"Him who hath prepared it from afar," that is, planned it even from a distant time.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Unto the maker thereof “To him that hath disposed this” - That is, to God the Author and Disposer of this visitation, the invasion with which he now threatens you. The very same expressions are applied to God, and upon the same occasion, Isa 37:26: - “Hast thou not heard of old, that I have disposed it; And of ancient times, that I have formed it?”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And a ditch you made A pool of water, to be a defense (lit., strength) for the city.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the houses of Jerusalem you counted how many houses each one had, that they give of them proportionally, to take the stones and the wood to fortify the wall.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִקְוָ֣ה׀ | umikvah | and a reservoir | H4724 → | |
| עֲשִׂיתֶ֗ם | ʾasitem | you made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בֵּ֚ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הַחֹ֣מֹתַ֔יִם | hachomotayim | the two walls | H2346 → | 133 times |
| לְמֵ֖י | lemei | for [the] water of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| הַבְּרֵכָ֣ה | haberekhah | the pool | H1295 → | 17 times |
| הַיְשָׁנָ֑ה | hayshanah | <the> old | H3465 → | |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִבַּטְתֶּם֙ | hibatem | you looked | H5027 → | 69 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֔יהָ | ʾoseiha | [the] [one who] made it | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְיֹצְרָ֥הּ | veyotzerah | and [the] [one who] planned it | H3335 → | 62 times |
| מֵֽרָח֖וֹק | merachok | from distant [time] | H7350 → | 84 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רְאִיתֶֽם׃ | reitem | you considered | H7200 → | 1300 times |
וּמִקְוָ֣ה׀and a reservoir
umikvahH4724 →
עֲשִׂיתֶ֗םyou made
ʾasitemH6213 →2628 times
בֵּ֚יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
הַחֹ֣מֹתַ֔יִםthe two walls
hachomotayimH2346 →133 times
לְמֵ֖יfor [the] water of
lemeiH4325 →581 times
הַבְּרֵכָ֣הthe pool
haberekhahH1295 →17 times
הַיְשָׁנָ֑ה<the> old
hayshanahH3465 →
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הִבַּטְתֶּם֙you looked
hibatemH5027 →69 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֹשֶׂ֔יהָ[the] [one who] made it
ʾoseihaH6213 →2628 times
וְיֹצְרָ֥הּand [the] [one who] planned it
veyotzerahH3335 →62 times
מֵֽרָח֖וֹקfrom distant [time]
merachokH7350 →84 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רְאִיתֶֽם׃you considered
reitemH7200 →1300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Psalms 27:12–14
Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
it leads to
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 17:16
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
- Psalms 20:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.