Bible Strands
Isaiah 22:7
Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the gates.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah pronounces this oracle against Jerusalem, describing the immediate military reality of enemy forces massing against the city during a time of siege.
The words — מִבְחַר (mivchar) means "choicest" or "best," modifying עֲמָקַיִךְ (amakaich), "your valleys." The verb מָלְאוּ (malu) literally states "they were full," while שָׁתוּ (shatu) indicates the horsemen "took a stand" or were posted at the gates.
The thread — The image of invading armies filling valleys and occupying strategic positions runs through Isaiah 10:28 and Jeremiah 39:1, tracking the movement of foreign powers against Judah.
Why it lands — The text reports that every defensible position is saturated with enemy troops, requiring the reader to confront the collapse of human military security and the necessity of looking beyond visible defenses.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 8:7 the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.
- Isaiah 10:28 Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.
- Jeremiah 39:1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.
- Isaiah 37:34 He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD.