צ Tsadhe

137 You are righteous,(A) Lord,
    and your laws are right.(B)
138 The statutes you have laid down are righteous;(C)
    they are fully trustworthy.(D)
139 My zeal wears me out,(E)
    for my enemies ignore your words.
140 Your promises(F) have been thoroughly tested,(G)
    and your servant loves them.(H)
141 Though I am lowly and despised,(I)
    I do not forget your precepts.(J)
142 Your righteousness is everlasting
    and your law is true.(K)
143 Trouble and distress have come upon me,
    but your commands give me delight.(L)
144 Your statutes are always righteous;
    give me understanding(M) that I may live.

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The Lord’s Answer

“Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.(A)
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.(B)
I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](C)
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(D)
    to seize dwellings not their own.(E)
They are a feared and dreaded people;(F)
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
Their horses are swifter(G) than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves(H) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
    their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
    they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners(I) like sand.
10 They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.(J)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps(K) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(L) and go on—
    guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(M)

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(N)
    My God, my Holy One,(O) you[c] will never die.(P)
You, Lord, have appointed(Q) them to execute judgment;
    you, my Rock,(R) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(S) to look on evil;
    you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(T)
Why then do you tolerate(U) the treacherous?(V)
    Why are you silent while the wicked
    swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(W)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
    like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(X) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(Y)
    he catches them in his net,(Z)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
    and burns incense(AA) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
    and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
    destroying nations without mercy?(AB)

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
  2. Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we

Simon Peter, a servant(A) and apostle of Jesus Christ,(B)

To those who through the righteousness(C) of our God and Savior Jesus Christ(D) have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance(E) through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.(F)

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

His divine power(G) has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him(H) who called us(I) by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises,(J) so that through them you may participate in the divine nature,(K) having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.(L)

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;(M) and to knowledge, self-control;(N) and to self-control, perseverance;(O) and to perseverance, godliness;(P) and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.(Q) For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive(R) in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.(S) But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,(T) forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.(U)

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling(V) and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,(W) 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom(X) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family.

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