Ἀμβακούμ 2
1 ἐπὶ τῆς φυλακῆς μου στήσομαι καὶ ἐπιβήσομαι ἐπὶ πέτραν καὶ ἀποσκοπεύσω τοῦ ἰδεῖν τί λαλήσει ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ τί ἀποκριθῶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἔλεγχόν μου
[After I said that, I said to myself, ] “I will climb up into my watchtower, and stand there at my guard post. I will wait there to find out what Yahweh will say, what he will reply to what I have complained about.”
2 καὶ ἀπεκρίθη πρός με κύριος καὶ εἶπεν γράψον ὅρασιν καὶ σαφῶς ἐπὶ πυξίον ὅπως διώκῃ ὁ ἀναγινώσκων αὐτά
Then Yahweh replied to me, “Write plainly on tablets [what I am revealing to you in] this vision, [and then read it to a messenger] in order that he can run with it [to tell it to] other people.
3 διότι ἔτι ὅρασις εἰς καιρὸν καὶ ἀνατελεῖ εἰς πέρας καὶ οὐκ εἰς κενόν ἐὰν ὑστερήσῃ ὑπόμεινον αὐτόν ὅτι ἐρχόμενος ἥξει καὶ οὐ μὴ χρονίσῃ
In this vision [I will be talking about things that will happen] in the future. Now is not the time when those things will happen, but they certainly will happen, and when they occur, they will occur quickly, and they will not be delayed. Now you [want those things to happen immediately, but] they are not happening. But wait patiently for them [to happen]!
4 ἐὰν ὑποστείληται οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται
Think about the proud [people of Babylonia]! They are certainly not doing what is righteous. But people who are righteous will live because they faithfully [do what I want them to do].
5 ὁ δὲ κατοινωμένος καὶ καταφρονητὴς ἀνὴρ ἀλαζών οὐδὲν μὴ περάνῃ ὃς ἐπλάτυνεν καθὼς ὁ ᾅδης τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὗτος ὡς θάνατος οὐκ ἐμπιπλάμενος καὶ ἐπισυνάξει ἐπ’ αὐτὸν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ εἰσδέξεται πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντας τοὺς λαούς (Sheol h7585)
If people [trust in their wealth], they will deceive themselves, and proud people are never able to rest. [It is as though] the greedy people [of Babylonia open their mouths] as wide as the place where dead people are, and they never have enough, like [the place where] dead people go never has enough dead people [PRS]. The [armies of Babylonia] conquer many nations for themselves, and capture all their people. (Sheol h7585)
6 οὐχὶ ταῦτα πάντα παραβολὴν κατ’ αὐτοῦ λήμψονται καὶ πρόβλημα εἰς διήγησιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐροῦσιν οὐαὶ ὁ πληθύνων ἑαυτῷ τὰ οὐκ ὄντα αὐτοῦ ἕως τίνος καὶ βαρύνων τὸν κλοιὸν αὐτοῦ στιβαρῶς
But [soon] all those [whom they have captured] will ridicule [the soldiers from Babylonia]! They will make fun of them, saying, ‘Terrible things will happen to you who have stolen things [from other countries]! You got many things by forcing people to give them to you. [But you certainly will not keep those things] for a long time [RHQ]!’
7 ὅτι ἐξαίφνης ἀναστήσονται δάκνοντες αὐτόν καὶ ἐκνήψουσιν οἱ ἐπίβουλοί σου καὶ ἔσῃ εἰς διαρπαγὴν αὐτοῖς
Suddenly those whom you (oppressed/treated cruelly) will cause you to tremble, and they will take away all the things that you have stolen from them.
8 διότι σὺ ἐσκύλευσας ἔθνη πολλά σκυλεύσουσίν σε πάντες οἱ ὑπολελειμμένοι λαοὶ δῑ αἵματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀσεβείας γῆς καὶ πόλεως καὶ πάντων τῶν κατοικούντων αὐτήν
You stole things from the people of many nations. You murdered [MTY] people of many people-groups, and you destroyed their land and their cities. So those who are still alive will steal valuable things from you.
9 ὦ ὁ πλεονεκτῶν πλεονεξίαν κακὴν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ τοῦ τάξαι εἰς ὕψος νοσσιὰν αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐκσπασθῆναι ἐκ χειρὸς κακῶν
Terrible things will happen to you [people of Babylonia] who build big houses with money that you got by forcing others to give it to you. You are proud and you think that your houses will be safe because you have built them in places where you can easily defend them.
10 ἐβουλεύσω αἰσχύνην τῷ οἴκῳ σου συνεπέρανας λαοὺς πολλούς καὶ ἐξήμαρτεν ἡ ψυχή σου
But because you have destroyed others, you have caused your family [MTY] to be shamed/disgraced, and you yourselves will be killed.
11 διότι λίθος ἐκ τοίχου βοήσεται καὶ κάνθαρος ἐκ ξύλου φθέγξεται αὐτά
[It is as though] the stones in the walls [of your houses] cry out to accuse you, and [it is as though] the beams [in your ceilings] also say the same things.
12 οὐαὶ ὁ οἰκοδομῶν πόλιν ἐν αἵμασιν καὶ ἑτοιμάζων πόλιν ἐν ἀδικίαις
Terrible things will happen to you [people of Babylonia] who kill people [MTY] in order to build cities, cities that you build by using money that you have gotten by committing crimes.
13 οὐ ταῦτά ἐστιν παρὰ κυρίου παντοκράτορος καὶ ἐξέλιπον λαοὶ ἱκανοὶ ἐν πυρί καὶ ἔθνη πολλὰ ὠλιγοψύχησαν
But the Commander of the armies of angels has [RHQ] declared that everything that is built by people who do things like that [will be destroyed by] fire; they will have worked hard uselessly.
14 ὅτι πλησθήσεται ἡ γῆ τοῦ γνῶναι τὴν δόξαν κυρίου ὡς ὕδωρ κατακαλύψει αὐτούς
But [in contrast], like [SIM] the oceans are filled with water, the earth will be filled with [people who] know that Yahweh is very great.
15 ὦ ὁ ποτίζων τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀνατροπῇ θολερᾷ καὶ μεθύσκων ὅπως ἐπιβλέπῃ ἐπὶ τὰ σπήλαια αὐτῶν
Terrible things will happen to you [people of Babylonia] who cause people who live in nearby countries to become drunk. You force them to drink a lot of wine from wineskins [until they are drunk and then they walk around] naked, in order that you can see that.
16 πλησμονὴν ἀτιμίας ἐκ δόξης πίε καὶ σὺ καὶ διασαλεύθητι καὶ σείσθητι ἐκύκλωσεν ἐπὶ σὲ ποτήριον δεξιᾶς κυρίου καὶ συνήχθη ἀτιμία ἐπὶ τὴν δόξαν σου
But you are the ones who [soon] will be disgraced instead of being honored. [It will be as though you are forced to] drink [a lot of wine] in order that you will also stagger [around, drunk]. You will drink the wine [that symbolizes that Yahweh will punish you], and he will cause you to be disgraced instead of being greatly respected [any more].
17 διότι ἀσέβεια τοῦ Λιβάνου καλύψει σε καὶ ταλαιπωρία θηρίων πτοήσει σε διὰ αἵματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀσεβείας γῆς καὶ πόλεως καὶ πάντων τῶν κατοικούντων αὐτήν
You did violent [PRS] things to [the people in] Lebanon, and you killed the wild animals [there], but you will be punished severely for doing that. You have killed [MTY] many people and you have destroyed their lands and their cities.
18 τί ὠφελεῖ γλυπτόν ὅτι ἔγλυψαν αὐτό ἔπλασαν αὐτὸ χώνευμα φαντασίαν ψευδῆ ὅτι πέποιθεν ὁ πλάσας ἐπὶ τὸ πλάσμα αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι εἴδωλα κωφά
[You people of Babylonia need to know that your] idols are completely [RHQ] useless, because it is people who made them. Statues that have been carved or made in a mold deceive you. Those who trust in idols are trusting in things that they themselves created, things that cannot speak!
19 οὐαὶ ὁ λέγων τῷ ξύλῳ ἔκνηψον ἐξεγέρθητι καὶ τῷ λίθῳ ὑψώθητι καὶ αὐτό ἐστιν φαντασία τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἔλασμα χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ
Terrible things will happen to you who say to lifeless idols that are made of wood, ‘Wake up!’ Idols certainly cannot [RHQ] tell you what you should do; they [look nice/beautiful because] they are covered with silver and gold, but they are not alive.
20 ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐν ναῷ ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ εὐλαβείσθω ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ
But Yahweh is in his holy temple; everyone on the earth should be silent in his presence.”
