Detailed English Explanation
1. “Woe unto him”
The verse begins with the word “Woe.” In Scripture, this expression often introduces a serious warning of judgment. It is not merely an expression of sadness. It announces that a person’s sinful actions have serious consequences.
God is warning the person who intentionally uses another person’s weakness for personal purposes. The warning is especially serious because the wrongdoing described in this verse involves manipulation and exploitation.
The person being condemned is not simply someone who happens to drink alcohol. The emphasis is on deliberately causing another person to become drunk so that the person can be placed in a vulnerable condition.
2. “That giveth his neighbour drink”
The phrase refers to giving drink to another person with a harmful intention. The word “neighbour” is significant because biblical teaching repeatedly emphasizes the responsibility people have toward others.
A neighbour should be treated with dignity, honesty, compassion, and respect. Instead, the person in this verse turns a neighbour’s weakness into an opportunity for exploitation.
The problem is therefore not simply the presence of a drink. The moral issue is the intention and misuse of another person’s vulnerability.
Someone who deliberately encourages another person to lose self-control so that he or she can take advantage of them is acting contrary to love of neighbour.
3. “That puttest thy bottle to him”
The picture presented is vivid. The offender actively supplies the intoxicating drink. The language describes deliberate participation rather than accidental involvement.
This makes the verse relevant to situations in which someone knowingly encourages excessive drinking because they want another person to become unable to protect or control themselves.
The Bible repeatedly calls people to exercise wisdom and self-control. Intoxication can impair judgment and make people vulnerable to harmful decisions and harmful treatment by others.
Therefore, the verse warns against creating or exploiting such vulnerability.
4. “And makest him drunken also”
This phrase makes the intention even clearer. The offender wants the other person to become intoxicated.
The wrongdoing involves manipulation. The victim is not being treated as a person whose dignity matters. Instead, their impaired condition becomes useful to the person who intends to exploit them.
This principle reaches beyond the ancient setting. Whenever someone deliberately causes another person to become vulnerable so that they can exploit, humiliate, abuse, or manipulate them, the same moral principle is relevant.
God’s concern is not merely with outward religious behavior. He also sees the intentions behind human actions.
5. “That thou mayest look on their nakedness”
This final part explains the purpose behind the wrongdoing. The offender wants to see the person’s nakedness after making them drunk.
In the biblical context, nakedness can carry meanings associated with shame, vulnerability, humiliation, and sexual impropriety. The verse therefore presents a disturbing picture of someone intentionally weakening another person’s ability to protect their dignity and then taking advantage of that condition.
The important lesson is that another person’s vulnerability must never become an opportunity for exploitation.
A person’s dignity does not disappear when they become weak, intoxicated, poor, powerless, or unable to defend themselves. Human beings remain worthy of respectful treatment.
6. The connection with justice
Habakkuk 2 is fundamentally concerned with justice. The powerful oppressor believes that strength and success allow him to do whatever he wants. But God declares that such behavior will eventually face judgment.
Habakkuk 2:15 therefore fits naturally with the other warnings in the chapter. The Babylonian power was condemned for violence, greed, exploitation, and arrogance. The verse demonstrates that God’s judgment also reaches acts of personal humiliation and abuse.
The message is clear: power does not give a person permission to exploit someone who is weaker.
7. A warning about manipulation
One of the most important lessons from this verse is the danger of manipulation.
Manipulation occurs when someone intentionally creates circumstances that make another person easier to control. In this passage, intoxication becomes the means through which vulnerability is created.
The biblical principle can be applied broadly. People should not deliberately take advantage of another person’s weakness, whether that weakness is caused by intoxication, fear, poverty, dependence, ignorance, age, or another difficult circumstance.
A godly response to weakness is protection, not exploitation.
8. Human dignity matters
Habakkuk 2:15 reminds readers that God cares about how people treat one another.
A person who is vulnerable should be protected rather than exploited. A person who has lost self-control should receive help rather than humiliation. A person who cannot adequately defend themselves should not become an object of another person’s selfish desires.
This principle is especially important in families, friendships, communities, workplaces, and social gatherings.
9. The broader message of Habakkuk
The prophet Habakkuk began his book by asking why injustice appeared to continue without immediate punishment. God eventually showed him that evil would not have the final word.
Habakkuk 2:15 is part of that answer. The oppressor may appear powerful for a time, but God sees what happens in secret. Human beings may hide wrongdoing from other people, but nothing is hidden from God.
This gives the passage both a warning and a source of hope. It warns those who exploit others that their actions matter, while assuring victims of injustice that God sees what human society may overlook.
Practical Lessons from Habakkuk 2:15
First, do not exploit vulnerability. When another person is weak or unable to protect themselves, the proper response is compassion and protection.
Second, intentions matter. An action may appear ordinary on the surface, but a sinful purpose can make the action deeply wrong.
Third, respect human dignity. Every person should be treated with respect, including someone who has made poor decisions or lost self-control.
Fourth, avoid encouraging destructive behavior. Helping another person become intoxicated for entertainment or selfish purposes can have serious consequences.
Fifth, God sees hidden wrongdoing. Habakkuk teaches that injustice may remain hidden for a time, but it does not escape God’s attention.
Sixth, power should be used responsibly. People with greater strength, influence, wealth, authority, or knowledge have a responsibility not to abuse those advantages.
Spiritual Reflection
Habakkuk 2:15 invites us to examine our motives. It is easy to condemn obvious wrongdoing while overlooking the ways people may manipulate others for entertainment, pleasure, profit, or control.
The verse asks us to consider whether we protect people when they are vulnerable or whether we use their vulnerability for our own benefit.
God’s justice is not limited to public crimes. He also sees hidden acts of humiliation, exploitation, and abuse.
The passage therefore calls believers toward compassion, self-control, integrity, and respect for others.
Habakkuk 2:15 — Urdu Explanation
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!”
اس آیت میں نبی حبقوق ایک ایسے شخص کے خلاف سخت تنبیہ بیان کرتا ہے جو اپنے پڑوسی کو شراب پلاتا ہے، اسے نشہ آور حالت میں پہنچاتا ہے، اور پھر اس کی کمزوری سے فائدہ اٹھانا چاہتا ہے۔ آیت کا بنیادی موضوع صرف شراب نوشی نہیں بلکہ دوسرے انسان کی کمزوری، عزت اور بے بسی سے فائدہ اٹھانا ہے۔
“Woe unto him” — “اُس پر افسوس”
آیت کا آغاز “Woe” سے ہوتا ہے، جس کا مفہوم سخت تنبیہ اور آنے والی سزا کی طرف اشارہ ہے۔ خدا ایسے عمل کو معمولی بات نہیں سمجھتا جس میں کوئی شخص جان بوجھ کر دوسرے انسان کو نقصان یا ذلت کی حالت میں پہنچائے۔
حبقوق کی کتاب میں ایسے کئی “woes” بیان ہوئے ہیں جن کے ذریعے خدا ظالم اور مغرور لوگوں کے اعمال کے بارے میں فیصلہ ظاہر کرتا ہے۔
پڑوسی کو شراب پلانے کا مفہوم
آیت میں “اپنے پڑوسی کو پلانے” کا ذکر ہے۔ بائبل میں پڑوسی سے محبت، عزت اور بھلائی کا تصور بہت اہم ہے۔ انسان کو دوسرے انسان کی کمزوری سے فائدہ اٹھانے کے بجائے اس کے ساتھ بھلائی کرنی چاہیے۔
یہاں مسئلہ صرف مشروب کا وجود نہیں بلکہ غلط مقصد اور دوسرے انسان کو جان بوجھ کر کمزور حالت میں پہنچانا ہے۔
اگر کوئی شخص کسی دوسرے کو اس لیے نشہ آور حالت میں پہنچاتا ہے کہ وہ اس کا فائدہ اٹھا سکے، اسے ذلیل کر سکے یا اس کی عزت پامال کر سکے، تو یہ عمل شدید اخلاقی برائی ہے۔
“اور اُسے مدہوش کر دیتا ہے”
اس حصے سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ معاملہ اتفاقی نہیں بلکہ دانستہ ہے۔ مجرم شخص چاہتا ہے کہ دوسرا انسان اپنی سمجھ اور خود پر قابو کھو دے۔
نشہ انسان کی فیصلہ کرنے کی صلاحیت کو متاثر کر سکتا ہے اور اسے دوسروں کے سامنے زیادہ کمزور بنا سکتا ہے۔ اس لیے کسی شخص کو جان بوجھ کر ایسی حالت میں پہنچانا تاکہ اس کا فائدہ اٹھایا جا سکے، ظلم اور استحصال ہے۔
خدا انسان کے ظاہری اعمال کے ساتھ ساتھ اس کے ارادے کو بھی دیکھتا ہے۔
“تاکہ تو اُس کی برہنگی دیکھے”
آیت کا آخری حصہ مقصد کو واضح کرتا ہے۔ یہاں برہنگی کا تعلق شرمندگی، بے عزتی، کمزوری اور نامناسب رویے سے ہے۔
ایک شخص کو نشہ دے کر اس کی عزت اور حفاظت کو خطرے میں ڈالنا اس کی انسانی قدر و منزلت کے خلاف ہے۔
یہاں ایک اہم روحانی اصول سامنے آتا ہے: کسی انسان کی بے بسی کو اپنے فائدے کے لیے استعمال نہیں کرنا چاہیے۔
جو شخص کمزور ہے اسے تحفظ کی ضرورت ہے، استحصال کی نہیں۔ جو شخص اپنی حفاظت نہیں کر سکتا، اس کے ساتھ عزت اور رحم کا برتاؤ ہونا چاہیے۔
خدا کی عدالت
حبقوق کی کتاب کا ایک بڑا موضوع خدا کی عدالت ہے۔ نبی نے سوال کیا تھا کہ ظالم لوگ کب تک ظلم کرتے رہیں گے۔ خدا نے اسے بتایا کہ ظالموں کا انجام مقرر ہے۔
حبقوق 2:15 اسی بڑے پیغام کا حصہ ہے۔ جو لوگ دوسروں کو اپنی طاقت، دولت یا اختیار کے ذریعے نقصان پہنچاتے ہیں، وہ ہمیشہ کامیاب نہیں رہیں گے۔
خدا ظلم کو دیکھتا ہے، خواہ وہ کھلے عام ہو یا چھپ کر۔
آج کے لیے سبق
اس آیت سے آج کے انسان کے لیے کئی اہم سبق ملتے ہیں:
- دوسروں کی کمزوری سے فائدہ نہ اٹھائیں۔
- کسی انسان کو جان بوجھ کر ایسی حالت میں نہ پہنچائیں جہاں وہ اپنی حفاظت نہ کر سکے۔
- دوسروں کی عزت اور وقار کا احترام کریں۔
- غلط نیت سے کسی کو نشہ یا بے ہوشی کی حالت میں پہنچانا سنگین اخلاقی مسئلہ ہے۔
- خدا پوشیدہ اعمال کو بھی دیکھتا ہے۔
- طاقت اور اختیار کا استعمال حفاظت اور بھلائی کے لیے ہونا چاہیے، استحصال کے لیے نہیں۔
- کمزور انسان کے ساتھ رحم اور عزت سے پیش آنا چاہیے۔