And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
Parallel translations
- WEB Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.
- BSB Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the gates.
- NKJV It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
- NASB Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots, And the horsemen took positions at the gate.
- NLT Chariots fill your beautiful valleys, and charioteers storm your gates.
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
Jerusalem's fertile valleys fill with enemy chariots arrayed at the gate. It matters because it shows the threat reaching the very doorstep of the city.
Overview
The choicest valleys around Jerusalem are crowded with hostile chariots, and horsemen take position at the gate. The siege presses in upon the capital itself. The picture conveys the imminence and seriousness of the danger. It heightens the urgency of the city's need to turn to God rather than to its own defenses.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 39:1–3In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.
- Isa 8:7–8Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
- Isa 10:28–32He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:
- Isa 37:34By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 22:7 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.