| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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 | 1I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved. |
| 2Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. | 2Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. |
| 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. | 3"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. |
| 4“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. | 4"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. |
| 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. | 5"Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples. |
| 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?’ | 6"Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him And say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- And makes himself rich with loans?' |
| 7Suddenly, your debtors will take action. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless. | 7"Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for 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. | 8"Because you have looted many nations, All the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants. |
| 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. | 9"Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity! |
| 10But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives. | 10"You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself. |
| 11The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint. | 11"Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework. |
| 12“What sorrow awaits you who build cities with money gained through murder and corruption! | 12"Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed And founds a town with violence! |
| 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! | 13"Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing? |
| 14For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD. | 14"For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. |
| 15“What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness. | 15"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness! |
| 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. | 16"You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory. |
| 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. | 17"For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, And the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them, Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants. |
| 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! | 18"What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols. |
| 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. | 19"Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it. |
| 20But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.” | 20"But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." |
| 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. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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