Bible Strands
Isaiah 22:17
Look, O mighty man! The LORD is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaiah delivers a divine declaration to a high official who has been carving a monumental tomb for himself. The message interrupts the official's preparations to announce imminent divine judgment.
The words — מְטַלְטֶלְ/ךָ֔ (me.tal.tel./Kha) denotes an imminent violent shaking or hurling away, while עָטֹֽה ('a.Toh) specifies a complete and inescapable grasp.
The thread — The imagery of violent displacement continues in Isaiah 22:18 with the promise of rolling the official into a ball and slinging him into a distant land. The pattern of God overturning human security appears in Job 9:24 and Esther 7:8.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that human ambition for legacy is subject to divine intervention. The text requires readers to abandon self-constructed security and submit to God's sovereign control over human affairs.
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
Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 14:3 The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Esther 7:8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
- Job 9:24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?