1 I will stand upon my post of observation and station myself on the tower or fortress, and will watch to see what He will say within me and what answer I will make to the perplexities of my complaint against Him.

¶ I will stand upon my watch and affirm my foot upon the fortress and will watch to see what he will say in me and what I shall answer to my question.

2 A nd the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may read as he hastens by.

And the LORD answered me and said, Write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that reads it.

3 F or the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it because it will surely come; wait for it.

4 L ook at the proud; his soul is not straight or right within him, but the just and the righteous man shall live by his faith and in his faithfulness.

Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him will become filled with pride, but the just in his faith shall live.

5 M oreover, wine and wealth are treacherous; the proud man is restless and cannot stay at home. His appetite is large like that of Sheol and is like death and cannot be satisfied; he gathers to himself all nations and collects all people as if he owned them.

¶ Even more than he who is given over to wine, the transposer, the proud man, shall not remain, who enlarges his desire as Sheol and is as death and cannot be satisfied, but gathered unto him all the Gentiles and heaps unto him all the peoples;

6 S hall not all these take up a taunt against him and in scoffing derision of him say, Woe to him who piles up that which is not his! And who loads himself with promissory notes for usury!

Shall not all these take up a parable against him and a taunting enigma against him and say, Woe to him that multiplied that which was not his! And for how long would he pile thick clay upon himself?

7 S hall not rise up suddenly who shall bite you, exacting usury of you, and those awake who will vex you ? Then you will be booty for them.

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee and awake those that shall take thy place, and thou shalt be for a prey unto them?

8 B ecause you have plundered many nations, all who are left of the people shall plunder you—because of men’s blood and for the violence done to the earth, to the city and all the people who live in each city.

Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the other peoples shall spoil thee because of human blood and for the robberies of the land, of the cities, and of all that dwell therein.

9 W oe to him who obtains wicked gain for his house, to set his nest on high that he may be preserved from calamity and delivered from the power of evil!

Woe to him that covets ill-gotten gain by violence for his house that he may set his nest on high, that he may escape from the power of evil!

10 Y ou have devised shame to your house by cutting off and putting an end to many peoples, and you have sinned against and forfeited your own life.

Thou hast taken shameful counsel for thy house by cutting off many peoples and hast committed a sin against thy life.

11 F or the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it.

For the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

12 W oe to him who builds a town with blood and establishes a city by iniquity!

Woe to him that builds the city with blood and founds the village with iniquity!

13 B ehold, is it not by appointment of the Lord of hosts that the nations toil only to satisfy the fire, and the peoples weary themselves only for emptiness, falsity, and futility?

Is this not of the LORD of the hosts? Therefore the peoples shall labour for the fire, and the Gentiles shall weary themselves in vain.

14 B ut the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

15 W oe to him who gives his neighbors drink, who pours out your bottle to them and adds to it your poisonous and blighting wrath and also makes them drunk, that you may look on their stripped condition and pour out foul shame!

¶ Woe unto him that gives his neighbours drink, that puts thy bottle to them, and makes them drunken also, that thou may look on their nakedness!

16 Y ou will be filled with shame and contempt instead of glory. Drink also and be like an uncircumcised! The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and foul shame shall be upon your own glory!

Thou hast filled thyself with dishonour instead of honour; drink thou also, and thy foreskin shall be uncovered; the cup of the LORD’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful vomit shall fall upon thy glory.

17 F or the violence done to Lebanon will cover and overwhelm you; the destruction of the animals will terrify you on account of men’s blood and the violence done to the land, to the city and all its inhabitants.

For the violence of Lebanon shall fall upon thee and the destruction of the wild beasts shall break thee, because of the human blood, and of the robbery of the land, of the cities, and of all that dwell therein.

18 W hat profit is the graven image when its maker has formed it? It is only a molten image and a teacher of lies. For the maker trusts in his own creations when he makes dumb idols.

Of what profit is the graven image that its maker has sculpted; the molten image, that teaches lies, so that in making dumb images the maker trusts in his work?

19 W oe to him who says to the wooden image, Awake! and to the dumb stone, Arise, teach! behold, it is laid over with gold and silver and there is no breath at all inside it!

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Can it ever teach? Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it.

20 B ut the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth hush and keep silence before Him.

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.