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.
Currently Selected:
Habakkuk 2: CEB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Habakkuk 2
2
The LORD's Answer to Habakkuk
1I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the LORD will tell me to say and what answer he#2.1 One ancient translation he; Hebrew I will give to my complaint.
2The LORD gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on clay tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance. 3#Heb 10.37Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. 4#Rom 1.17; Gal 3.11; Heb 10.38And this is the message: ‘Those who are evil will not survive,#2.4 Probable text will not survive; Hebrew unclear. but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.’ ”
Doom on the Unrighteous
5Wealth is deceitful. Greedy people are proud and restless — like death itself they are never satisfied. That is why they conquer nation after nation for themselves. 6The conquered people will taunt their conquerors and show their scorn for them. They will say, “You take what isn't yours, but you are doomed! How long will you go on getting rich by forcing your debtors to pay up?”
7But before you know it, you that have conquered others will be in debt yourselves and be forced to pay interest. Enemies will come and make you tremble. They will plunder you! 8You have plundered the people of many nations, but now those who have survived will plunder you because of the murders you have committed and because of your violence against the people of the world and its cities.#2.8; 2.17 the people… cities; or the land, the city, and those who live in it.
9You are doomed! You have made your family rich with what you took by violence, and have tried to make your own home safe from harm and danger! 10But your schemes have brought shame on your family; by destroying many nations you have only brought ruin on yourself. 11Even the stones of the walls cry out against you, and the rafters echo the cry.
12You are doomed! You founded a city on crime and built it up by murder. 13The nations you conquered wore themselves out in useless labour, and all they have built goes up in flames. The LORD Almighty has done this. 14#Is 11.9But the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the LORD's glory as the seas are full of water.
15You are doomed! In your fury you humiliated and disgraced your neighbours; you made them stagger as though they were drunk. 16You in turn will be covered with shame instead of honour. You yourself will drink and stagger. The LORD will make you drink your own cup of punishment, and your honour will be turned to disgrace. 17You have cut down the forests of Lebanon; now you will be cut down. You killed its animals; now animals will terrify you. This will happen because of the murders you have committed and because of your violence against the people of the world and its cities.#2.17; 2.8 the people… cities; or the land, the city, and those who live in it.
18What's the use of an idol? It is only something that a human being has made, and it tells you nothing but lies. What good does it do for its maker to trust it — a god that can't even talk! 19You are doomed! You say to a piece of wood, “Wake up!” or to a block of stone, “Get up!” Can an idol reveal anything to you? It may be covered with silver and gold, but there is no life in it.
20The LORD is in his holy Temple; let everyone on earth be silent in his presence.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.