houses of joy - pleasure-houses outside of Jerusalem, not Jerusalem itself, but other cities destroyed by Sennacherib in his march (Isa 7:20-25). However, the prophecy, in its full accomplishment, refers to the utter desolation of Judea and its capital by Rome, and subsequently, previous to the second coming of the King (Psa 118:26; Luk 13:35; Luk 19:38); “the joyous city” is in this view, Jerusalem (Isa 22:2).