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Moreover, wealth[a] is treacherous;
    the arrogant do not endure.
They open their throats wide as Sheol;
    like Death they never have enough.
They gather all nations for themselves
    and collect all peoples as their own.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 2.5 Q mss: MT wine

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
    in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
    to be inflamed by wine,(A)
12 whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
    tambourine and flute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord
    or see the work of his hands!(B)

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20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and human eyes are never satisfied.(A)

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20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
    and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.(A)

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Belshazzar’s Feast

King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.(A)

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.(B) So they brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.(C)

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They prepare the table;
    they spread the rugs;
    they eat; they drink.
Rise up, commanders;
    oil the shield!(A)

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We have heard of the pride of Moab
    —how proud he is!—
of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
    his boasts are false.(A)

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16 Those who see you will stare at you
    and ponder over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
    who shook kingdoms,(A)
17 who made the world like a desert
    and overthrew its cities,
    who would not let his prisoners go home?”(B)

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But this is not what he intends,
    nor does he have this in mind,
but it is in his heart to destroy
    and to cut off nations not a few.(A)
For he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?(B)
Is not Calno like Carchemish?
    Is not Hamath like Arpad?
    Is not Samaria like Damascus?(C)
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
    whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,(D)
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
    what I have done to Samaria and her images?”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he[a] will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride.(E) 13 For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples
    and have plundered their treasures;
    like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 10.12 Gk: Heb I

22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
    and valiant at mixing drink,(A)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe
    and deprive the innocent of their rights!(B)

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Social Injustice Denounced

Woe to those who join house to house,
    who add field to field,
until there is room for no one,
    and you are left to live alone
    in the midst of the land!(A)

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17 The haughtiness of people shall be humbled,
    and the pride of everyone shall be brought low,
    and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(A)

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11 The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low,
    and the pride of everyone shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(A)
12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up and high;[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. 2.12 Cn Compare Gk: Heb low

10 The lover of money will not be satisfied with money, nor the lover of wealth with gain. This also is vanity.(A)

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It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
    it is not for kings to drink wine
    or for rulers to desire[a] strong drink,(A)
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
    and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

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Footnotes

  1. 31.4 Cn: Heb where

13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
    how high their eyelids lift!—(A)
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
    whose teeth are knives
to devour the poor from off the earth,
    the needy from among mortals.(B)

15 The leech has two daughters;
    “Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
    four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
    the earth ever-thirsty for water,
    and the fire that never says, “Enough.”(C)

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29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
    Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
    Who has redness of eyes?(A)
30 Those who linger late over wine,
    those who keep trying mixed wines.(B)
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
    when it sparkles in the cup
    and goes down smoothly.
32 At the last it bites like a serpent
    and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
    and your mind utter perverse things.(C)

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For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he perceives from far away.(A)

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10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”(A)

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But God gives all the more grace; therefore it says,

“God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to the humble.”(A)

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11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you,(A)

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Because you have plundered many nations,
    all who survive of the peoples shall plunder you—
because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth,
    to cities and all who live in them.(A)

“Alas for you who get evil gain for your house,
    setting your nest on high
    to be safe from the reach of harm!”(B)
10 You have devised shame for your house
    by cutting off many peoples;
    you have forfeited your life.(C)

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Look at the proud!
    Their spirit is not right in them,
    but the righteous live by their faithfulness.(A)

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Why do you plot against the Lord?
    He will make an end;
    no adversary will rise up twice.(A)
10 Like thorns they are entangled;
    like drunkards they are drunk;
    they are consumed like dry straw.(B)

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20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him.(A) 21 He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and sets over it whomever he will.(B) 22 And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this!(C) 23 You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose power is your very breath and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored.(D)

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