2 I will stand at my place on the wall of the city. I will watch from there. I will wait to see what God will say to me. I have complained to him and now I will see how he answers me.
2 The Lord answered me. He said:
‘Write down what I will show to you. Make it very clear on the page where you write it. Then someone can easily read it, and he can tell the message to other people. 3 What I will show to you must happen at the time that I have decided. That is a future time, but it will certainly happen, as I have said. It may not happen very soon, but you must be patient. What I show to you will certainly happen at the right time, so wait for it.
4 Look now! The enemy is very proud. They do not want to do what is right. [ a ] But righteous people will live because of their faith in God.
5 Wine will destroy that proud enemy. [ b ] They do not stop attacking other people. They never have enough for themselves. They are like death that is so hungry that it eats as much as it can. The deep hole of death eats everything. The cruel enemy is like that! They want all the nations to belong to them. They catch everyone to be their prisoners.
6 But one day, their prisoners will laugh at them. The people will insult that proud nation with songs and proverbs. They will say, “You have stored for yourselves many valuable things that do not belong to you. It will be very bad for you! You have robbed other nations so that you can be rich. This will not continue much longer!”
7 The people that have lent their riches to you will suddenly attack. They will come to take back their things and you will be very afraid. Now they will come to rob you! 8 You have robbed many nations. You have murdered people in many lands. You have destroyed towns and the people who live in them. Now the people who remain will come to rob you.
9 It will be very bad for anyone who cheats other people so that he can make his family rich. He thinks that his riches will make him safe. He thinks that he is too high up for any trouble to reach him. 10 But the cruel things that you have done will bring shame to your family. You decided to destroy people from many countries. Because of that, you will pay with your own life. 11 The stones in the walls of your houses will cry out against you. The beams in your roof will also shout aloud.
12 It will be very bad for anyone who kills people so that he can build a city for himself. It will be bad for anyone who does wicked things to make his town great.
13 Listen! The Lord Almighty has commanded this: All the work that people do to get things for themselves is useless. The things that the nations work so hard to get will become smoke! 14 But people everywhere will one day recognize the Lord 's great glory. Those people will fill the whole earth, as the waters fill the sea.
15 It will be very bad for you! You cause your neighbours to become drunk. [ c ] You are so angry that you make them drink too much wine. You are happy when they are so drunk that you can see their bare bodies. 16 But it is you who will become ashamed, not great. You will become drunk so that people see you with no clothes on! The Lord has a cup of wine in his right hand. He is ready to give it to you as a punishment. You will no longer be great, but you will be ashamed.
17 You have done cruel things to the people in Lebanon. You destroyed their animals. The Lord will punish you for the things that you have done, and you will be very afraid. You have murdered people. You have destroyed the land and the towns and the people who live in them.
18 What value does an idol have? What help can it give? Somebody has made it as the image of a false god. It can only tell false messages. Why should its maker trust it for help? He has used wood or metal to make it and it cannot speak!
19 It will be very bad for anyone who says to a piece of wood, “Wake up!” It will be bad for anyone who says to a stone that cannot speak, “Get up and help me!” It cannot teach you! It has gold or silver to make it look nice, but it is not alive.
20 But the Lord rules from his holy temple. Everybody on the earth should be quiet in front of him.’
2 I will stand like a guard and watch.
I will wait to see what the Lord will say to me.
I will wait and learn how he answers my questions.
2 The Lord answered me, “Write down what I show you. Write it clearly on a sign so that the message will be easy to read. [ a ] 3 This message is about a special time in the future. This message is about the end, and it will come true. Just be patient and wait for it. That time will come; it will not be late. 4 This message cannot help those who refuse to listen to it, but those who are good will live because they believe it.
5 “Wine can trick a person. In the same way a strong man’s pride can fool him, but he will not find peace. He is like death—he always wants more and more. And, like death, he will never be satisfied. He will continue to defeat other nations and to make those people his prisoners. 6 But soon enough, all those people will laugh at him and tell stories about his defeat. They will laugh and say, ‘It’s too bad that the man who took so many things will not get to keep them! He made himself rich by collecting debts.’
7 “Strong man, you have taken money from people. One day they will wake up and realize what is happening, and they will stand against you. Then they will take things from you, and you will be very afraid. 8 You have stolen things from many nations, so they will take much from you. You have killed many people and destroyed lands and cities. You have killed all the people there.
9 “Look at you people! You get rich by cheating people, and it hurts your own family! You build your houses high on the cliffs to protect yourself from danger. 10 You planned shameful things, and that will bring shame to your own family. You have done wrong, and it will cost you your life. 11 The stones of the walls will cry out against you. Even the wooden rafters [ b ] in your own house will prove that you are wrong.
12 “Look at them! They kill people to build their city and do wicked things to make their walled city strong. 13 But the Lord All-Powerful has decided that a fire will destroy everything that those people worked to build. All their work will be for nothing. 14 Then people everywhere will know about the Glory of the Lord . This news will spread just as water spreads out into the sea. 15 It will be very bad for those who become angry and make other people suffer. Like an angry drunk, they knock others to the ground and strip them naked, just to see their naked bodies. [ c ]
16 “But they will know the Lord’s anger. It will be like a cup of poison in the Lord ’s right hand. They will taste that anger, and then they will fall to the ground like drunks.
“Evil ruler, you will drink from that cup. You will get shame, not honor. 17 You hurt many people in Lebanon and stole many animals there. So you will be afraid because of the people who died and because of the bad things you did to that country. You will be afraid because of what you did to those cities and to the people who lived there.”
18 Their false god will not help them, because it is only a statue that someone covered with metal. It is only a statue, so whoever made it cannot expect it to help. That statue cannot even speak! 19 Look at them! They speak to a wooden statue and tell it, “Get up! Rescue me.” They talk to a stone that cannot speak and say, “Wake up!” Don’t you know those things cannot help you? That statue may be covered with gold and silver, but there is no life in it.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple, so the whole earth should be silent in his presence and show him respect.
2 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 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, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord , as the waters cover the sea.
15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the Lord 's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.
17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
2 I will ( A ) stand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will ( B ) keep watch to see ( C ) what He will say to me,
And how I may reply [ a ] when I am reprimanded.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“ ( D ) Write down the vision
And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that one who [ b ] reads it may run.
3 For the vision is yet for the ( E ) appointed time;
It [ c ] hurries toward the goal and it will not [ d ] fail.
Though it delays, ( F ) wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it ( G ) will not delay long .
4 “Behold, as for the ( H ) impudent one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the ( I ) righteous one will live by his [ e ] faith.
5 Furthermore, ( J ) wine betrays an ( K ) arrogant man,
So that he does not ( L ) achieve his objective.
He ( M ) enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all the nations
And collects to himself all the peoples.
6 “Will all of these not ( N ) take up a song of ridicule against him,
Even a saying and insinuations against him
And say, ‘ ( O ) Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself [ f ] rich with debts!’
7 Will [ g ] your creditors not ( P ) rise up suddenly,
And those who [ h ] collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
8 Since you have ( Q ) looted many nations,
All the rest of the peoples will loot you—
Because of human bloodshed and violence [ i ] done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
9 “Woe to him who makes ( R ) evil profit for his household,
To ( S ) put his nest on high,
To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!
10 You have planned a ( T ) shameful thing for your house
By bringing many peoples to an end;
So you are ( U ) sinning against yourself.
11 For the ( V ) stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the [ j ] framework.
12 “Woe to him who ( W ) builds a city with bloodshed,
And founds a town with [ k ] violence!
13 Is it not indeed from the Lord of armies
That peoples ( X ) labor merely for fire,
And nations become weary for nothing?
14 For the earth will be ( Y ) filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord ,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink;
[ l ] To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk,
So as to look at their genitalia!
16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
( Z ) Drink, you yourself, and [ m ] expose your own foreskin!
The ( AA ) cup in the Lord ’ s right hand will come around to you,
And ( AB ) utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 For the ( AC ) violence [ n ] done to Lebanon will [ o ] overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its animals [ p ] by which you terrified them,
( AD ) Because of human bloodshed and ( AE ) violence [ q ] done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
18 “What ( AF ) benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
Or a cast metal image, a ( AG ) teacher of falsehood?
For its maker ( AH ) trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 Woe to him who ( AI ) says to a piece of wood, ‘ ( AJ ) Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
That is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with ( AK ) gold and silver,
Yet there is ( AL ) no breath at all inside it.
20 But the ( AM ) Lord is in His holy temple.
[ r ] Let all the earth ( AN ) be silent before Him.”
2 I will stand at my watch ( A )
and station myself on the ramparts; ( B )
I will look to see what he will say ( C ) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint. [ a ] ( D )
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write ( E ) down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald [ b ] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; ( F )
it speaks of the end ( G )
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait ( H ) for it;
it [ c ] will certainly come
and will not delay. ( I )
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person ( J ) will live by his faithfulness [ d ] ( K ) —
5 indeed, wine ( L ) betrays him;
he is arrogant ( M ) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied, ( N )
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive ( O ) all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt ( P ) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion! ( Q )
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey. ( R )
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you. ( S )
For you have shed human blood; ( T )
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. ( U )
9 “Woe to him who builds ( V ) his house by unjust gain, ( W )
setting his nest ( X ) on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin ( Y ) of many peoples,
shaming ( Z ) your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones ( AA ) of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed ( AB )
and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, ( AC )
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? ( AD )
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory ( AE ) of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. ( AF )
15 “Woe to him who gives drink ( AG ) to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame ( AH ) instead of glory. ( AI )
Now it is your turn! Drink ( AJ ) and let your nakedness be exposed [ e ] ! ( AK )
The cup ( AL ) from the Lord ’s right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence ( AM ) you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you. ( AN )
For you have shed human blood; ( AO )
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value ( AP ) is an idol ( AQ ) carved by a craftsman?
Or an image ( AR ) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak. ( AS )
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ ( AT )
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver; ( AU )
there is no breath in it.” ( AV )
