18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,

and wickedness as with cart ropes,

19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;

let him hasten his work

so we may see it.

The plan of the Holy One of Israel—

let it approach, let it come into view,

so we may know it.”

20 Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity,

And sin as it were with a cart rope:

19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work,

That we may see it:

And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come,

That we may know it!

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;

That put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes,

And prudent in their own sight!

18 What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them

with ropes made of lies,

who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!

19 They even mock God and say,

“Hurry up and do something!

We want to see what you can do.

Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan,

for we want to know what it is.”

20 What sorrow for those who say

that evil is good and good is evil,

that dark is light and light is dark,

that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.

21 What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes

and think themselves so clever.

18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity,

And sin as if with a cart rope;

19 That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work,

That we may see it;

And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,

That we may know it.”

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,

And prudent in their own sight!

18 How terrible it will be for those people!

They pull their guilt and sins behind them

as people pull wagons with ropes.

19 They say, “Let God hurry;

let him do his work soon

so we may see it.

Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon

so that we will know what it is.”

20 How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad

and bad things good,

who think darkness is light

and light is darkness,

who think sour is sweet

and sweet is sour.

21 How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise

and believe they are clever.

18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope; 19 that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with cart-ropes! 19 who say, Let him hasten, let him speed his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 20 Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem!

18 How horrible it will be for those 

who string people along with lies and empty promises, 

whose lives are sinful. 

19 They say, 

“Let God hurry and quickly do his work 

so that we may see what he has in mind. 

Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen quickly 

so that we may understand what he is doing.” 

20 How horrible it will be for those 

who call evil good and good evil, 

who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, 

who turn what is bitter into something sweet 

and what is sweet into something bitter. 

21 How horrible it will be for those 

who think they are wise 

and consider themselves to be clever. 

18 Woe to those who drag wickedness

with cords of deceit

and pull sin along with cart ropes,

19 to those who say:

“Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly

so that we can see it!

Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place

so that we can know it!”

20 Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who substitute darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who substitute bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion

and clever in their own sight.

18 Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,

who drag sin along as with cart ropes,

19 who say, “Let him make haste,

let him speed his work

that we may see it;

let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfillment,

that we may know it!”

20 Ah, you who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

21 Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,

and shrewd in your own sight!

18 Ah! Those who drag iniquity along with the cords of falsehood

and sin as with rope of the cart,

19 those who say,

“Let him make haste;

let him hurry his work

so that we may see it

and let it draw near

and let the plan of the holy one of Israel come

so that we may know it!”

20 Ah! Those who call evil good and good evil,

those who put darkness for light and light for darkness,

those who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

21 Ah! Those who are wise in their own eyes

and have understanding in their view!

18 How terrible it will be for those who continue to sin

and lie about it!

How terrible for those who keep on doing what is evil

as if they were tied to it!

19 How terrible for those who say,

“Let God hurry up and do what he says he will.

We want to see it happen.

Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan soon.

We want to know what it is.”

20 How terrible it will be for those who say

that what is evil is good!

How terrible for those who say

that what is good is evil!

How terrible for those who say

that darkness is light

and light is darkness!

How terrible for those who say

that what is bitter is sweet

and what is sweet is bitter!

21 How terrible it will be for those who think they are wise!

How terrible for those who think they are really clever!

18 Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood,

And sin as if with cart ropes;

19 Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;

And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near

And come to pass, that we may know it!”

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;

Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

And clever in their own sight!