What does Isaiah 22:2 mean?

The oracle against Jerusalem begins with a condemnation of the people for their celebrations (Isaiah 22:1). The tight-packed town is full of cheering and rejoicing. Why was this? Commentators suggest two different interpretations.

The first possibility relates to the events of 701 BC. At that time, the people of Jerusalem had just escaped a siege by the Assyrian king Sennacherib and his army. They went to bed sure they would not have long to live and woke up to find that 185,000 Assyrians were dead and the rest were fleeing (Isaiah 37:33–38).

If this moment is what Isaiah means, then he wants the people to recognize that this is not the time for partying. Many of their countrymen outside the walls of Jerusalem had been killed or captured by Sennacherib's army. We know from Sennacherib's annals that these people did not die in battle. The Assyrian king's records indicate that he laid "siege to forty-six fortified cities, walled forts, and countless villages." Despite surviving the siege of Jerusalem, Judah suffered a great deal at the hands of the Assyrians.

The other possible interpretation is that Isaiah is describing the eventual destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC, well after his lifetime. King Nebuchadnezzar also laid siege to the city, but he succeeded where Sennacherib was stopped by the Lord. Isaiah may be asking his fellow people why they are celebrating when the Lord has predicted the eventual downfall of Jerusalem. They should get ahold of themselves now because of the future terror that will fall on them when so many die in the siege and not in battle.