Bible Strands
Isaiah 22:1
This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaiah delivers this oracle against Jerusalem, addressing its inhabitants as they gather on their rooftops during a time of impending crisis. The prophet speaks to the city's leadership and populace amid looming judgment.
The words — מַשָּׂ֖א (ma.Sa') translates as oracle or burden, and חִזָּי֑וֹן (chi.za.Yon) means vision. Together they frame the message as a divinely revealed pronouncement of judgment.
The thread — The motif of rooftop gathering appears in Isaiah 15:3 as a sign of public mourning, while Jeremiah 21:13 and Psalms 125:2 contrast human reliance on elevated terrain with divine protection.
Why it lands — The text records a rhetorical question demanding an explanation for the city's rooftop assembly, which signals panic or false security. It requires the reader to recognize that human evasion cannot halt a declared divine judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 21:13 Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
- Psalms 125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
- Isaiah 15:3 In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.
- Joel 3:12 Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side.
- Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
- Genesis 21:17 Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
- Deuteronomy 22:8 If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
- Judges 18:23 When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
- 1 Samuel 3:1 And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce.
- 1 Samuel 11:5 Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.