2:1 I will stand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,
And how I may reply ①when I am reprimanded.
▷ ①Lit upon my reprimand
2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said,
“Write down the vision
And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that one who ①reads it may run.
▷ ①Or is to proclaim; or reads it may read it fluently
2:3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It ①hurries toward the goal and it will not ②fail.
Though it delays, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay long.
▷ ①Lit pants ②Or lie
2:4 “Behold, as for the impudent one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous one will live by his ①faith.
▷ ①Or faithfulness
2:5 Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man,
So that he does not achieve his objective.
He 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.
2:6 “Will all of these not take up a song of ridicule against him,
Even a saying and insinuations against him
And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself ①rich with debts!’
▷ ①Lit heavy
2:7 Will ①your creditors not rise up suddenly,
And those who ②collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
▷ ①Lit those who bite you ②Lit violently shake you
2:8 Since you have looted many nations,
All the rest of the peoples will loot you—
Because of human bloodshed and violence ①done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
▷ ①Lit of the land
2:9 “Woe to him who makes evil profit for his household,
To put his nest on high,
To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!
2:10 You have planned a shameful thing for your house
By bringing many peoples to an end;
So you are sinning against yourself.
2:11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the ①framework.
▷ ①Lit wood
2:12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed,
And founds a town with ①violence!
▷ ①Lit injustice
2:13 Is it not indeed from the LORD of armies
That peoples labor merely for fire,
And nations become weary for nothing?
2:14 For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea.
2:15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink;
①To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk,
So as to look at their genitalia!
▷ ①Another reading is From the cup of your venom
2:16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
Drink, you yourself, and ①expose your own foreskin!
The cup in the LORD’S right hand will come around to you,
And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
▷ ①Lit show yourself uncircumcised; DSS and ancient versions stagger
2:17 For the violence ①done to Lebanon will ②overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its animals ③by which you terrified them,
Because of human bloodshed and violence ④done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
▷ ①Lit of Lebanon ②Lit cover ③Lit which shattered them ④Lit of the land
2:18 “What benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
Or a cast metal image, a teacher of falsehood?
For its maker trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
2:19 Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
That is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
Yet there is no breath at all inside it.
2:20 But the LORD is in His holy temple.
①Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
▷ ①Lit Hush before Him, all the earth