Archaic KJV Word
Vision
Modern equivalent: strategic plan
What Was Lost
The divine origin. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' did not mean 'without strategic planning, organizations fail.' It meant 'without prophetic revelation from God, the people cast off restraint.' Chazon was God's word breaking into human consciousness -- not a whiteboard brainstorming session.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
vision (still used in religious contexts but contaminated by corporate planning language)
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Proverbs 29:18 -- 'Where there is no vision, the people perish'; Acts 2:17 -- 'Your young men shall see visions'
Died still used but secularized (~1950)
Hebrew chazon ('divine revelation/prophetic disclosure from God') secularized into 'a clear plan for the future' -- corporate 'vision statements' replaced prophetic encounters with God.
What Replaced It
“plan”
Human strategy; chazon was God pulling back the curtain to show what He intended
“mission statement”
Corporate document; prophetic vision was an overwhelming encounter with divine reality
“goal”
Human aspiration; chazon was received, not generated -- God spoke, the prophet saw