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 2,6 Hab 2,6
And he took up his parable, and said,From Aram hath Balak brought me,The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:Come, curse me Jacob,And come, {Hebrew: be worth against.}defy Israel.
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.
Jehovah, how long shall the wicked,How long shall the wicked triumph?
Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
And he took up his parable, and said,Rise up, Balak, and hear;Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
{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.
But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night {Greek: they require thy soul.}is thy {Or, life}soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?
He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the {Or, exactress}golden city ceased!
Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers;
{Or, he that smote…is persecuted, and none hindereth}that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.
The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us.
Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up {Or, the shades Hebrew: Rephaim.}the dead for thee, even all the {Hebrew: he-goats.}chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
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;
that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.
But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, {Or, as the raiment of those that are slain.}clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot.
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.
But this I say, brethren, the time {Or, is shortened henceforth, that both those &c.}is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none;
and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not;
and those that use the world, as not using it to the full: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
Wherefore do ye {Hebrew: weigh.}spend money for that which is not bread? and your {Or, carnings}labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again;God will cast them out of his belly.
He shall suck the poison of asps:The viper's tongue shall slay him.
He shall not look upon the rivers,The flowing streams of honey and butter.
That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down;According to the substance {Hebrew: of his exchange.}that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor;He hath violently taken away a house, {Or, which he builded not}and he shall not build it up.
Because he knew no quietness {Or, in his greed Hebrew: in his belly.}within him,He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth.
There was nothing left that he devoured not;Therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits:The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.
{Or, Let it be for the filling of his belly that God shall cast &c.}When he is about to fill his belly,God will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him,And will rain it upon him {Or, as his food}while he is eating.
He shall flee from the iron weapon,And the bow of brass shall strike him through.
He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body;Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall:Terrors are upon him.
All darkness is laid up for his treasures:A fire not blown by man shall devour him; {Or, It shall go ill with him that is left}It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
The heavens shall reveal his iniquity,And the earth shall rise up against him.
The increase of his house shall depart;His goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
This is the portion of a wicked man from God,And the heritage appointed unto him by God.
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto {Greek: prayers.}prayer:
Because of the wrath of Jehovah she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,And stripped the naked of their clothing.
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
But as for the {Hebrew: the man of arm.}mighty man, he had the {Or, land}earth;And {Hebrew: he whose person is accepted.}the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Therefore snares are round about thee,And sudden fear troubleth thee,
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his gain,And he that giveth to the rich, shall come only to want.
In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament {Or, with the lamentation, It is done; and say &c.}with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly ruined: he changeth the portion of my people: how doth he {Or, depart from }remove it from me! to the rebellious he divideth our fields.
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured {Another reading is, us.}me, he hath crushed {Another reading is, us.}me, he hath made {Another reading is, us.}me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed {Another reading is, us.}me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast {Another reading is, us.}me out.
{Hebrew: My wrong and my flesh.}The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the {Hebrew: inhabitress.}inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony {Or, unto}against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.