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So they will hang on him the whole burden of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the lesser vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.
Isaiah 22:24 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the pitchers.
  • KJV And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
  • NKJV ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers.
  • NASB So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the descendants, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.
  • NLT They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family.”

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

Eliakim's family and dependents will lean their whole weight upon his standing. The honor and burden of the house will rest on this one man.

Overview

All the family's vessels, great and small, hang on the single peg, picturing how many depend on one leader. The image warns that even a God-given office can be overloaded by human reliance. It foreshadows the difference between a finite servant and Christ, on whom God's people may rest their full weight forever.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • John 5:22–27Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
  • John 20:21–23Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
  • Matt 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
  • Dan 6:1–3Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
  • 2 Tim 2:20–21A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
  • Gen 41:44–45And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”
  • Gen 47:11–25So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
  • Rom 9:22–23What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
  • Ezek 15:3Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils?

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 22:24YouTube · 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 22:24 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.