I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the {Or, fortress}tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak {Or, by}with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint.
And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.
For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it {Hebrew: panteth.}hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.
Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not {Or, straight}upright in him; but the righteous shall live {Or, in his faithfulness}by his faith.
{Or, And also because his wine…he is a haughty man}Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, {Or, he shall not abide}that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting {Or, riddle}proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges!
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall {Or, exact usury of thee}bite thee, and awake that shall {Or, toss thee to and fro}vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them?
Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!
Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that {Or, pourest}addest thy {Or, fury}venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Thou art filled with shame, and not glory: drink thou also, and {Or, let thy foreskin be uncovered}be as one uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovah's right hand shall come round unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory.
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he that fashioneth its form trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
But Jehovah is in his holy temple: {Hebrew: be silent before him, all the earth.}let all the earth keep silence before him.
Querverweise zu Habakuk 2,5 Hab 2,5
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;And whosoever {Or, reeleth}erreth thereby is not wise.
Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not {Or, straight}upright in him; but the righteous shall live {Or, in his faithfulness}by his faith.
Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up: glory thereof, and abide at home; for why shouldest thou {Or, provoke calamity}meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul.
Who hath {Hebrew: Oh!}woe? who hath {Hebrew: Alas!}sorrow? who hath contentions?Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?Who hath {Or, darkness}redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine;They that go to {Or, try}seek out mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,When it sparkleth in the cup,When it {Or, moveth itself aright}goeth down smoothly:
At the last it biteth like a serpent,And stingeth like an adder.
Thine eyes shall behold {Or, strange women}strange things,And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
For though Jehovah is high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly;But the haughty he knoweth from afar.
and that ye {Greek: be ambitious. See Romans 15:20 margin.}study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, even as we charged you;
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.
For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings?
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
As my hand hath {Or, reached}found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down {Or, the inhabitants}them that sit on thrones:
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.There are three things that are never satisfied,Yea, four that say not, Enough:
They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;Nor for princes {Another reading is, to desire strong drink.}to say, Where is strong drink?
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
Sheol; and the barren womb;The earth that is not satisfied with water;And the fire that saith not, Enough.
that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?
Lest they drink, and forget {Hebrew: that which is decreed.}the law,And pervert the justice due to {Hebrew: all the sons of the affliction.}any that is afflicted.
There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives,To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.
behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; and I will {Hebrew: devote.}utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!
The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
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.
And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
For {Or, Jehovah of hosts hath a day}there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low;
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
that justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.
They prepare the table, they {Or, spread the carpets}set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield.
Call together {Or, many}the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; encamp against her round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her; for she hath been proud against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel.
When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts', and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he setteth up over it whomsoever he will.
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this,
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink therefrom.
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
But he giveth {Greek: a greater grace.}more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, {Proverbs 3:34.}God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.
What do ye devise against Jehovah? he will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.
For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed {Or, as stubble fully dry}utterly as dry stubble.