Proverbs 29:18a says “Where there is no vision, the people perish . . .” (King James Version). The New Revised Standard Version puts it like this: “Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint . . .” Frankly, I like the King James Version best because it paints a more dramatic picture (even though the NRSV is probably a more accurate translation of the Hebrew). The word “vision” has a far more encompassing flavor than does the word “prophecy.” “Perish” certainly has a more stark connotation than “cast off restraint.” There is a big difference between walking on the wild side and dying.
The term “perish” means “To pass away; to come to nought; to waste away; to decay and disappear; To die; to cease to live” That does not have to happen instantly. It can happen over a long period of time; the definition is clear . . . it can simply be a wasting away . . . slow but sure.
These words from Proverbs clearly refer to a revelation from God when talking about “vision.” Some modern scholars define hell as the absence of God—or in other words, hell is being cast out from God’s presence/God’s communication. That’s how some can say that there can be hell on earth.
Vision gives hope (reason to live). I heard the story of a man trapped in a fallen building in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was the sound of the rescue team digging through the rubble that gave him a reason to hang on. Our reason to hang—to hope—comes when we are in touch with our source of life . . . our God. If we don’t maintain our conversation with our God, then we run the very real risk of withering away until there is no spiritual life left in us. Where there is vision, there is hope . . . there is life.
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