Habakkuk 2
2
His Watchtower
1I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: 6shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
15Woe 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! 16Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 17For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
18What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
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Habakkuk 2: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James VersionHabakkuk 2
2
1I will climb my watchtower; I will take my place on the city wall. I will keep watch and see what he will say to me, how he will answer my grievances.
2Then the Lord told me, Write down the vision, inscribe it on tablets, so it can be easily read.#2:2 Literally, “so he who runs can read it.”
3For the vision is for a future time, it is about the end and it does not lie. If it seems slow in being fulfilled, wait for it, for it will definitely come—it will not be delayed!
4Look at those who are proud!#2:4. Again this applies to the main subject of the vision, the Babylonian people. They do not live right. But those who live right do so through their trust in God.
5In addition wealth provides no security.#2:5. “Wealth provides no security”: following one understanding of the Habbakuk pesher (commentary) from Qumran. The Masoretic Text has “wine is deceptive.” Those who are arrogant never have any peace; their greedy mouths are as wide open as the grave,#2:5. Literally, “Sheol,” the place of the dead. and like death they are never satisfied. They gather nations like possessions, swallowing up many peoples.
6Won't all these peoples taunt them? They will ridicule them, saying, “What disaster is coming to you who pile up things that don't belong to you! You make yourselves rich by forcing debtors to pay! How long can you go on doing this?”
7Won't your debtors suddenly act? Won't they wake up to the situation and make you tremble? You will be plunder for them!
8Because you have plundered many nations, those who are left will plunder you—for the human blood you have shed and the destruction you brought on lands and cities, and those who lived there.
9What disaster is coming to you who build houses through dishonest gain! You think you can place your “nest” so high it will be safe from disaster.
10Your evil schemes have brought shame upon your families, by destroying many nations you have forfeited your own lives.
11Even the stones in the wall cry out in condemnation, and the wooden rafters join in too.
12What disaster is coming to you who build cities with bloodshed, who found cities built on wickedness!
13Hasn't the Lord Almighty decided that all the hard work of such nations is going to be burned up—that they wear themselves out for nothing?
14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord's glory as the waters fill the sea.
15What disaster is coming to you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup of anger#2:15. Or “poison.” on them and make them drink so you may see them naked.
16In turn you will be filled with shame instead of glory. Drink and expose your nakedness!#2:16. “Expose your nakedness”: or “stagger”: Habbakuk pesher (commentary) from Qumran reading. The cup the Lord holds in his right hand will be passed round to you and your glory will turn to shame.
17As you destroyed the forests of Lebanon you will also be destroyed; you hunted the animals there, and now they will hunt#2:17. Literally, “terrify.” you. For you shed human blood and you destroyed lands and cities, along with those who lived there.
18What use is a wooden idol carved by human hands, or a metal image that teaches lies? What is the point of their makers trusting in their own handiwork, creating idols that can't speak?
19What disaster is coming to you who say to something made of wood, “Wake up!” or to lifeless stone, “Get up!” Can it teach you anything? Look at it! It's covered with gold and silver, but there is no life inside it.
20But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth be silent in his presence.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com