Habakkuk 2
2
God Answers the Prophet
1I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved.
2Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.
3For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
4“Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.
5Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man,
So that he does not stay at home.
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all nations
And collects to himself all peoples.
6“Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him,
Even mockery and insinuations against him
And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself rich with loans?’
7Will not your creditors rise up suddenly,
And those who collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
8Because you have looted many nations,
All the remainder of the peoples will loot you—
Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
9“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house
To put his nest on high,
To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
10You have devised a shameful thing for your house
By cutting off many peoples;
So you are sinning against yourself.
11Surely the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the framework.
12“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
And founds a town with violence!
13Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts
That peoples toil for fire,
And nations grow weary for nothing?
14For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
15“Woe to you who make your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!
16You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness.
The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you,
And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them,
Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
18“What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it,
Or an image, a teacher of falsehood?
For its maker trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
19Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
And there is no breath at all inside it.
20But the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
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Habakkuk 2: NASB1995
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Habakkuk 2
2
1I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he#2:1 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads I. will answer my complaint.
The Lord’s Second Reply
2Then the Lord said to me,
“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.
3This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.
4“Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.#2:3b-4 Greek version reads If the vision is delayed, wait patiently, / for it will surely come and not delay. / 4I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away. / But the righteous person will live by my faith. Compare Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:37-38.
5Wealth#2:5a As in Dead Sea Scroll 1QpHab; other Hebrew manuscripts read Wine. is treacherous,
and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,#2:5b Hebrew as Sheol.
and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
and swallowed many peoples.
6“But soon their captives will taunt them.
They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
but how much longer can this go on?’
7Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
They will turn on you and take all you have,
while you stand trembling and helpless.
8Because you have plundered many nations,
now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.
9“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses
with money gained dishonestly!
You believe your wealth will buy security,
putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.
10But by the murders you committed,
you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.
11The very stones in the walls cry out against you,
and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
12“What sorrow awaits you who build cities
with money gained through murder and corruption!
13Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised
that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?
They work so hard,
but all in vain!
14For as the waters fill the sea,
the earth will be filled with an awareness
of the glory of the Lord.
15“What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!
You force your cup on them
so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.
16But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.
Come, drink and be exposed!#2:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek and Syriac versions read and stagger!
Drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment,
and all your glory will be turned to shame.
17You cut down the forests of Lebanon.
Now you will be cut down.
You destroyed the wild animals,
so now their terror will be yours.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.
18“What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
a god that can’t even talk!
19What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
‘Rise up and teach us!’
Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
but they are lifeless inside.
20But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.”
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