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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Habakkuk 2: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Habakkuk 2
2
1I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart;#Is 21:8.
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.
God’s Response
2Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write down the vision;#Write down the vision: the vision is written down for two reasons: so that a herald may carry and proclaim its contents to the people, and so that the reception of the vision and its truth can be verified by its fulfillment (v. 3). #Is 30:8.
Make it plain upon tablets,
so that the one who reads it may run.
3For the vision is a witness for the appointed time,
a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint.
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
4See, the rash have no integrity;
but the just one who is righteous because of faith shall live.#The just one who is righteous because of faith shall live: the faithful survive the impending doom because they trust in God’s justice and wait patiently for God to carry it out. Several New Testament passages cite these words (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; cf. Heb 10:38) to confirm the teaching that people receive justification and supernatural life through faith in Christ. #Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38.
Sayings Against Tyrants
5#This verse describes any tyrant who, like the Babylonians, possesses insatiable greed. Indeed wealth is treacherous;
a proud man does not succeed.
He who opens wide his throat like Sheol,
and is insatiable as death,
Who gathers to himself all the nations,
and collects for himself all the peoples—
6Shall not all these take up a taunt against him,#Is 14:4.
and make a riddle about him, saying:
Ah! you who store up what is not yours
—how long can it last!—
you who load yourself down with collateral.
7Will your debtors#Debtors: the Hebrew term can mean either debtors or creditors, and this double meaning is likely intended: the debtor nations rise up against their creditor nation and become its creditors in the reversal of affairs described here. not rise suddenly?
Will they not awake, those who make you tremble?
You will become their spoil!
8Because you plundered many nations,
the remaining peoples shall plunder you;
Because of the shedding of human blood,
and violence done to the land,
to the city and to all who live in it.
9Ah! you who pursue evil gain for your household,
setting your nest on high
to escape the reach of misfortune!
10You have devised shame for your household,
cutting off many peoples, forfeiting your own life;
11For the stone in the wall shall cry out,#The palaces, built at the expense of gross injustice (vv. 6–10), call down vengeance on their builders. This is typical prophetic language for the condemnation of social crimes within Israel and Judah.
and the beam in the frame shall answer it!
12Ah! you who build a city by bloodshed,
and who establish a town with injustice!#Ez 24:6; Mi 3:10; Na 3:1.
13Is this not from the Lord of hosts:
peoples toil#Peoples toil: those oppressed by the Babylonians do not benefit from their work. Verses 13–14 break the pattern of reversal in the oracles that precede and may have been added by an editor. for what the flames consume,
and nations grow weary for nothing!
14But the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory,
just as the water covers the sea.#Is 11:9.
15Ah! you who give your neighbors
the cup of your wrath to drink, and make them drunk,
until their nakedness is seen!#Jer 51:7; Lam 4:21.
16You are filled with shame instead of glory;
drink, you too, and stagger!
The cup from the Lord’s right hand shall come around to you,
and utter shame shall cover your glory.
17For the violence done to Lebanon#The violence done to Lebanon: the destruction of the cedar forests of Lebanon, used in lavish building projects by the great conquerors; cf. Is 14:8; 37:24. The destruction of the animals: the killing off of the wild animals through excessive hunting by the same conquerors; cf. Bar 3:16. shall cover you,#Is 14:8.
and the destruction of the animals shall terrify you;
Because of the shedding of human blood,
and violence done to the land,
to the city and to all who live in it.
18Of what use is the carved image,#Idolatrous worship is here shown to be folly by contrasting idols with the majesty of the one true God. Verse 18 may originally have followed v. 19, since the term “Ah!” begins each new saying in this section.
that its maker should carve it?
Or the molten image, the lying oracle,
that its very maker should trust in it,
and make mute idols?
19Ah! you who say to wood, “Awake!”
to silent stone, “Arise!”
Can any such thing give oracles?#Is 44:18–19.
It is only overlaid with gold and silver,
there is no breath in it at all.
20But the Lord is in his holy temple;
silence before him, all the earth!#Ps 11:4.
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