This page gives you ready-to-use Isaiah 22 Bible study questions, with a leader’s answer or discussion note for each one. It suits a small group, a Sunday class, or a personal reading session. Isaiah 22 is a prophecy about Jerusalem, a city that celebrates while judgment is coming, and about two officials whose choices reveal what they trust.
Isaiah 22 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a “burden” over the valley of vision, a poem of grief over Jerusalem. The people are shouting on the rooftops, but the prophet weeps because their rulers have fled and the city’s defenses are being exposed. Verses 8 to 11 describe frantic preparations: weapons gathered, houses torn down to fortify walls, water channels built, yet no one looks to the Lord who has allowed all this.
The second half turns to two individuals. Shebna, the palace administrator, is condemned for carving a grand tomb for himself, and Eliakim is named as his replacement, receiving the key of David’s house. The final verse shows that human security can give way, which points to the Lord’s sovereign hand over every office.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first to build a shared picture of what the text says. Let people answer from the words on the page before anyone offers an interpretation. Keep the pace slow so that the details of the city’s panic are noticed.
Isaiah 22:1-2
1 The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops? 2 You that are full of shouting, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; your slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.
(WEB)
Read this opening to set the scene of a city full of noise while its real condition is grave. It gives the group the emotional tone of the whole chapter before any questions are asked.
Isaiah 22:11
You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who purposed it long ago.
(WEB)
This verse names the core problem in clear terms: effort was made, but the one who had done it was not looked to. Reading it aloud helps the group focus on the central point of the chapter.
Isaiah 22:12-13
12 In that day, the Lord, the LORD of Armies, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth: 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”
(WEB)
Hearing the call to mourning followed by the people’s feasting makes the contrast vivid. The group can feel the distance between God’s invitation and the city’s response.
Isaiah 22:21-22
21 And I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your government into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22 I will lay the key of David’s house on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.
(WEB)
These verses show the authority given to Eliakim and the key of David’s house. Reading them aloud helps the group see that the office is entrusted by God and is not self-made.
Isaiah 22:25
“In that day,” says the LORD of Armies, “the nail that was fastened in a sure place will give way. It will be cut down, and fall. The burden that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken it.”
(WEB)
Ending the chapter with the falling nail reminds the group that human security is not final. Read it slowly so that the closing word of the Lord settles over the discussion.
Memory Verse for Isaiah 22
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who often build defenses and make plans without first looking to you. Forgive us where we have feasted when we should have mourned, and where we have trusted what seems secure more than your word. Teach us to hold our positions, possessions and plans loosely, knowing that you open and shut every door. Give us humble hearts that serve others faithfully, and help us to bring our fears to you before we act on them. Thank you that your purposes stand even when human walls give way. Amen.
