And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many; And you collected the waters of the lower pool.
Parallel translations
- WEB You saw the breaches of David’s city, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
- KJV Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
- BSB You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.
- NKJV You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
- NLT You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool.
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 survey the city's many breaches and stockpile water for the siege. It matters because their busy preparations reveal trust in human effort rather than God.
Overview
The people inspect the broken places in the city wall and gather water from the lower pool to withstand attack. Such measures were prudent in themselves, yet Isaiah's point is that they did all this while ignoring God. Practical preparation became a substitute for repentance and faith. The verse exposes the danger of relying on one's own efforts apart from the LORD.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Kgs 20:20Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Chr 32:1–6After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and intended to win them for himself.
- Neh 3:16After him, Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs to the place opposite the tombs of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.
- 2 Chr 32:30This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of David’s city. Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
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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 22:9 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.