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.
Parallel translations
- WEB You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who purposed it long ago.
- BSB You 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.
- NKJV You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
- NASB And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.
- NLT Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They built a reservoir for defense but did not look to God who planned it all. It matters because it names their core sin: trusting their works while ignoring the LORD.
Overview
The people constructed a reservoir between the walls to secure water, a clever and capable response to the siege. But Isaiah delivers the decisive rebuke: they did not look to 'him who had done this' or respect the One who purposed it long ago. Their failure was not lack of effort but lack of faith in God, who stood behind these very events. The verse exposes the heart of unbelief that trusts human works while forgetting their Maker.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Mic 7:7Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
- Jer 33:2–3Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
- 2 Kgs 25:4And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
- Isa 31:1Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
- Isa 17:7At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
- Jer 39:4And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
- Isa 8:17And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
- Neh 3:16After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.
- Isa 37:26Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.
- 2 Chr 6:6But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
- 2 Chr 16:7–9And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
- 2 Chr 32:3–4He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.
- 2 Kgs 20:20And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 22:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.