Habakkuk 2
2
1I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.#2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
The Lord’s answer
2Then the Lord replied:
‘Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald#2:2 Or so that whoever reads it may run with it.
3For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it#2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he will certainly come
and will not delay.
4‘See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright –
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness#2:4 Or faith –
5indeed, wine betrays him;
he is arrogant and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive all the peoples.
6‘Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
‘ “Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?”
7Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.
8Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9‘Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain,
setting his nest on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10You have plotted the ruin of many peoples,
shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11The stones of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12‘Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and establishes a town by injustice!
13Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labour is only fuel for the fire,
that the nations exhaust themselves 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 him who gives drink to his neighbours,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed#2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagger!
The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming round to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18‘Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman?
Or an image that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.
19Woe to him who says to wood, “Come to life!”
Or to lifeless stone, “Wake up!”
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;
there is no breath in it.’
20The Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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Habakkuk 2
2
1I will take my post;
I will position myself on the fortress.
I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
and how he#2.1 Syr he; MT I will respond to my complaint.
The LORD responds
2Then the LORD answered me and said,
Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
so that a runner can read it.#2.2 Or a reader can run with it
3There is still a vision for the appointed time;
it testifies to the end;
it does not deceive.#2.3 Heb uncertain; antecedants to pronouns in 2:3-6 are uncertain.
If it delays, wait for it;
for it is surely coming; it will not be late.
4Some people’s desires are truly audacious;#2.4 Heb uncertain
they don’t do the right thing.
But the righteous person will live honestly.
5Moreover, wine betrays an arrogant man.
He doesn’t rest.
He opens his jaws#2.5 Or throat like the grave;#2.5 Heb Sheol
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers all nations to himself
and collects all peoples for himself.
6Won’t everyone tell parables about him
or mocking poems concerning him?
They will say:
Doom to the one who multiplies what doesn’t belong to him
and who increases his own burden.
How long?
7Won’t they suddenly rise up to bite you?
Those who frighten you will awaken;
you will become plunder for them.
8Since you yourself have plundered many nations,
all the rest of the peoples will plunder you
because of the human bloodshed
and the violence done to the earth,
to every village, and to all its inhabitants.
9Doom to the one making evil gain for his own house,
for putting his own nest up high,
for delivering himself from the grasp of calamity.
10You plan shame for your own house,
cutting off many peoples
and sinning against your own life.
11A stone will cry out from a village wall,
and a tree branch will respond.
12Pity the one building a city with bloodshed
and founding a village with injustice.
13Look, isn’t this from the LORD of heavenly forces?
Peoples grow weary from making just enough fire;
nations become tired for nothing.#2.13 Heb uncertain
14But the land will be full of the knowledge of the LORD’s glory,
just as water covers the sea.
15Doom to the one who makes his companions drunk,
pouring out your wrath in order to see them naked.#2.15 Heb uncertain
16You have drunk your fill of dishonor rather than glory.
So drink and stagger.#2.16 DSS, LXX; MT uncircumcised
The cup of the LORD’s strong hand will come around to you;
disgrace will engulf you.
17Because of the violence done to Lebanon, he will overwhelm you;
the destruction of animals will terrify you,
as will human bloodshed and violence throughout the land, the villages,
and all their inhabitants.#2.17 Heb uncertain
18Of what value is an idol, when its potter carves it,
or a cast image that has been shaped?
It is a teacher of lies,
for the potter trusts the pottery, though it is incapable of speaking.
19Doom to the one saying to the tree, “Wake up!”
or “Get up” to the silent stone.
Does it teach?
Look, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
but there is no breath within it.
20But the LORD is in his holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.
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