The {Or, oracle}burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
O Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save.
Why dost thou show me iniquity, and {Or, cause me to look}look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice {Or, goeth not forth unto victory}doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted.
Behold ye among the nations, and look, and wonder marvellously; for {Or, one worketh}I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.
{Hebrew: He, and so in verse 8, 9.}They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen {Or, spread themselves}press proudly on: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.
They come all of them for violence; {Hebrew: the eagerness (or, assembling) of their faces is &c.}the set of their faces is {Or, towards the east}forwards; and they gather captives as the sand.
{Or, And they scoff &c.}Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him; he derideth every stronghold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.
{Or, Then shall the wind sweep by, and he shall pass away}Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall {Or, transgress}pass over, and be guilty, even he whose might is his god.
Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction.
Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he;
and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
He taketh up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad.
Therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; because by them his portion is fat, and his food {Hebrew: fat.}plenteous.
Shall he therefore empty his net, and spare not to slay the nations continually?
Querverweise zu Habakuk 1,5 Hab 1,5
And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah shall lead you away.
therefore, behold, I will {Or, again do Hebrew: add to do.}proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
For Jehovah will rise up as in mount Perazim, he will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision:
The kings of the earth believed not, neither all the inhabitants of the world,That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
Now therefore be ye not scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for {Hebrew: destruction, and that decreed.}a decree of destruction have I heard from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, upon the whole {Or, land}earth.
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
They have denied Jehovah, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
For many nations and great kings {Or, have made}shall make bondmen of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.
For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Then took I the cup at Jehovah's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom Jehovah had sent me:
to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;
and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon;
and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the {Or, coast-land}isle which is beyond the sea;
Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off;
and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the wilderness;
and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ye shall surely drink.
For, lo, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets:
and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
{Habakkuk 1:5}Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and {Or, vanish away James 4:14.}perish;For I work a work in your days,A work which ye shall in no wise believe, if one declare it unto you.
Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the {Hebrew: word.}fulfilment of every vision.
For there shall be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
For I am Jehovah; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.
Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord Jehovah.
I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.
and set up false witnesses, who said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the law:
for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us.