Isaiah 22:5
in Isaiah 22For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision—of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For it is a day of discomfiture, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.
KJV
For 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 22
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 5.) For it is a day of slaughter and treading down, and of weeping from the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, searching the wall, and magnifying upon the mountain. LXX: For it is a day of tumult, and of destruction, and of treading down, and of error from the Lord God of hosts in the valley of Zion; they wander about from the least to the greatest: they are wandering upon the mountains.
This site's exposition
a day of tumult and trampling and confusion
on Isaiah 22:5-8
This is "a day of tumult", which Barnes and Delitzsch set in the siege of Sennacherib. "Elam takes up a quiver" and "Kir uncovers the shield", troops they take as auxiliaries of Assyria. The people look "to the weapons in the House of the Forest", the armory of Solomon.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5.) For it is a day of slaughter, and of trampling, and of weeping to the Lord God of hosts in the Valley of Vision. He reveals the reasons according to triple understanding why he said: Depart from me, I will weep bitterly; because Zion is trodden down, once a mountain of visions, and now a valley of weeping.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, he sets out the manner and order of punishment: a day of slaughter, and concerning this, he sets out three things. First, the indignation of God: a day of slaughter is imminent; searching, making it to be searched by the enemy; magnificent, making the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For it is a day of trouble,....
A reproof given them for their misconduct in that distress, in two things:-- (1.) Not having an eye to God in the use of the means of their preservation,
He is not willing to proclaim his sorrow, and therefore bids those about him to look away from him; he will abandon himself to grief, and indulge himself in it, will weep secretly, but weep bitterly, and will have none go about to comfort him, for his grief is obstinate and he is pleased with his pain.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For it is a day of trouble and of treading down - When our enemies trample on everything sacred and dear to us, and endanger all our best interests (see Psa 44:6; Luk 21:24). And of perplexity - In which we know not what to do. We are embarrassed, and know not where to look for relief. By the Lord God of hosts - That is, he is the efficient cause of all this. It has come upon us under his providence, and by his direction (see the note at Isa 10:5).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Some think a valley near Ophel is meant as about to be the scene of devastation (compare see on Isa 32:13,14). breaking . . . walls--that is, "a day of breaking the walls" of the city. crying to the mountains--the mournful cry of the townsmen "reaches" to (MAURER translates, towards) the mountains, and is echoed back by them.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יוֹם֩ | yom | a day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מְהוּמָ֨ה | mehumah | consternation | H4103 → | |
| וּמְבוּסָ֜ה | umevusah | and trampling | H4001 → | 3 times |
| וּמְבוּכָ֗ה | umevukhah | and confusion | H3998 → | |
| לַֽאדֹנָ֧י | ladonai | [belongs] to [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| צְבָא֖וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| בְּגֵ֣יא | begei' | in [the] valley of | H1516 → | 59 times |
| חִזָּי֑וֹן | chizayon | vision | H2384 → | |
| מְקַרְקַ֥ר | mekarkar | a breaking down of | H6979 → | |
| קִ֖ר | kir | a wall | H7023 → | 75 times |
| וְשׁ֥וֹעַ | veshoa' | and a crying out | H7771 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָהָֽר׃ | hahar | the mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יוֹם֩a day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
מְהוּמָ֨הconsternation
mehumahH4103 →
וּמְבוּסָ֜הand trampling
umevusahH4001 →3 times
וּמְבוּכָ֗הand confusion
umevukhahH3998 →
לַֽאדֹנָ֧י[belongs] to [the] Lord
ladonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
צְבָא֖וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
בְּגֵ֣יאin [the] valley of
begei'H1516 →59 times
חִזָּי֑וֹןvision
chizayonH2384 →
מְקַרְקַ֥רa breaking down of
mekarkarH6979 →
קִ֖רa wall
kirH7023 →75 times
וְשׁ֥וֹעַand a crying out
veshoa'H7771 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָהָֽר׃the mountain
haharH2022 →546 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
Luke 23:30At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
it leads to
- Revelation 6:16
And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
- Hosea 10:8
The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
- Isaiah 2:19
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Revelation 9:6
In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.
- Revelation 6:16
Through
Isaiah 37:3to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:9
Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD. “Or will I who deliver close the womb?” says your God.
- Hosea 13:13
Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
- Isaiah 26:17–18
As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Isaiah 66:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies 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.
