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.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine

and champions at mixing drinks,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,

but deny justice to the innocent.

24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw

and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decay

and their flowers blow away like dust;

for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty

and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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 shrewd in their own sight!

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,

and valiant men in mixing strong drink,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,

and deprive the innocent of his right!

24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,

and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,

so their root will be as rottenness,

and their blossom go up like dust;

for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,

and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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.

22 What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine

and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.

23 They take bribes to let the wicked go free,

and they punish the innocent.

24 Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble

and dry grass shrivels in the flame,

so their roots will rot

and their flowers wither.

For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;

they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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!

22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,

Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,

23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,

And take away justice from the righteous man!

24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble,

And the flame consumes the chaff,

So their root will be as rottenness,

And their blossom will ascend like dust;

Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,

And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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.

22 How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine

and are champions at mixing drinks.

23 They take money to set the guilty free

and don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.

24 They will be destroyed

just as fire burns straw or dry grass.

They will be destroyed

like a plant whose roots rot

and whose flower dies and blows away like dust.

They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord All-Powerful

and have hated the message from the Holy God of Israel.

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! 22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; 23 that justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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! 22 Woe unto them that are mighty for drinking wine, and men valiant to mix strong drink; 23 who justify the wicked for a bribe, and turn away the righteousness of the righteous from them! 24 Therefore as a tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and dry grass sinketh down in the flame, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; for they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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. 

22 How horrible it will be for those 

who are heroes at drinking wine, 

who are champions at mixing drinks, 

23 who declare the guilty innocent for a bribe, 

who take away the rights of righteous people. 

24 As flames burn up straw 

and dry grass shrivels in flames, 

so their roots will rot, 

and their blossoms will blow away like dust. 

They have rejected the teachings of the Lord of Armies 

and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 

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.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,

who are fearless at mixing beer,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe

and deprive the innocent of justice.

24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw

and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,

so their roots will become like something rotten

and their blossoms will blow away like dust,

for they have rejected

the instruction of the Lord of Hosts,

and they have despised

the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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!

22 Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine

and valiant at mixing drink,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,

and deprive the innocent of their rights!

24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,

and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,

so their root will become rotten,

and their blossom go up like dust;

for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of hosts,

and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

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!

22 Ah! Heroes at drinking wine,

and men of capability at mixing strong drink!

23 Those who acquit the guilty because of a bribe

and remove the justice of the innocent from him.

24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,

and dry grass sinks down in the flame,

so their root will become like the stench,

and their blossom will go up like the dust.

For they have rejected the instruction of Yahweh of hosts,

and they have treated the word of the holy one of Israel with contempt.

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!

22 How terrible it will be for those

who are heroes at drinking wine!

How terrible for those

who are heroes at mixing drinks!

23 How terrible for those

who take money to set guilty people free!

How terrible for those

who don’t treat good people fairly!

24 Flames of fire burn up straw.

Dry grass sinks down into those flames.

Evil people will be like plants whose roots rot away.

They will be like flowers that are blown away like dust.

That’s because they have said no to the law of the Lord who rules over all.

They have turned against the message of the Holy One of Israel.

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!

22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine

And valiant men in mixing strong drink,

23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,

And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble

And dry grass collapses into the flame,

So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;

For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts

And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.