| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. | 1I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint. The LORD’s Second Reply |
| 2And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. | 2Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. |
| 3For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. | 3This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. |
| 4“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. | 4“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. |
| 5“Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.” | 5Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples. |
| 6Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!” | 6“But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying, ‘What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You’ve become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?’ |
| 7Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them. | 7Suddenly, your debtors will take action. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless. |
| 8Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. | 8Because you have plundered many nations, now all the survivors will plunder you. You committed murder throughout the countryside and filled the towns with violence. |
| 9“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! | 9“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger. |
| 10You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. | 10But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives. |
| 11For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond. | 11The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint. |
| 12“Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! | 12“What sorrow awaits you who build cities with money gained through murder and corruption! |
| 13Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? | 13Has not the LORD of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain! |
| 14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. | 14For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD. |
| 15“Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! | 15“What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness. |
| 16You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! | 16But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced. Come, drink and be exposed! Drink from the cup of the LORD’s judgment, and all your glory will be turned to shame. |
| 17The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. | 17You cut down the forests of Lebanon. Now you will be cut down. You destroyed the wild animals, so now their terror will be yours. You committed murder throughout the countryside and filled the towns with violence. |
| 18“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! | 18“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk! |
| 19Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. | 19What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside. |
| 20But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” | 20But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.” |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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