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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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Habakkuk 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