Limitless Word
The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
Isaiah 22:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?
  • BSB This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
  • NKJV The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
  • NASB The pronouncement concerning the valley of vision: What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?
  • NLT This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision: What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops?

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

An oracle against Jerusalem, the 'valley of vision,' rebukes its misplaced reveling. It matters because God's own city is now under judgment for failing to trust him.

Overview

The 'valley of vision' is Jerusalem, the place where God revealed himself yet which now faces rebuke. The people have gone up to the rooftops in alarm or celebration rather than in repentance. Isaiah turns his prophetic burden from foreign nations to God's own people. The chapter exposes the deeper danger of false security and unbelief within the covenant community.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Jer 21:13Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
  • Ps 125:2As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
  • Isa 15:3In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
  • Joel 3:12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
  • Joel 3:14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
  • Isa 13:1The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
  • Judg 18:23And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
  • Jer 48:38There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
  • Prov 29:18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
  • Ps 114:5What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
  • 1 Sam 11:5And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
  • 1 Sam 3:1And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
  • Ps 147:19–20He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
  • Mic 3:6Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
  • Deut 22:8When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
  • Rom 3:2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
  • Gen 21:17And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
  • Rom 9:4–5Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
  • 2 Sam 14:5And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.
  • 2 Kgs 6:28And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 22:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 22:1 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.