Habakkuk 1-3
English Standard Version
1 (A)The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk's Complaint
2 O Lord, (B)how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you (C)“Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 (D)Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction (E)and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 (F)So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
(G)For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
The Lord's Answer
5 (H)“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
(I)For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, (J)I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
(K)who march through the breadth of the earth,
(L)to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
(M)their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 (N)Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than (O)the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
(P)they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come (Q)for violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives (R)like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
(S)They laugh at every fortress,
for (T)they pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
(U)guilty men, (V)whose own might is their god!”
Habakkuk's Second Complaint
12 Are you not (W)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
(X)We shall not die.
O Lord, (Y)you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O (Z)Rock, have established them for reproof.
13 You who are (AA)of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
(AB)why do you idly look at traitors
and (AC)remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
14 You make mankind like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 (AD)He[a] brings all of them up (AE)with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 (AF)Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury,[b]
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net
(AG)and mercilessly killing nations forever?
2 I will (AH)take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and (AI)look out to see (AJ)what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
(AK)“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still (AL)the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (AM)wait for it;
(AN)it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but (AO)the righteous shall live by his faith.[c]
5 “Moreover, wine[d] is (AP)a traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.[e]
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death (AQ)he has never enough.
(AR)He gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these (AS)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
(AT)“Woe to him (AU)who heaps up what is not his own—
for (AV)how long?—
and (AW)loads himself with pledges!”
7 (AX)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 (AY)Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
(AZ)for the blood of man and (BA)violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 (BB)“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
(BC)to (BD)set his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
(BE)by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For (BF)the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 (BG)“Woe to him (BH)who builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that (BI)peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 (BJ)For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of (BK)the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 (BL)“Woe to him (BM)who makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze (BN)at their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill (BO)of shame instead of glory.
(BP)Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
(BQ)The cup in the Lord's right hand
will come around to you,
and (BR)utter shame will come upon your glory!
17 (BS)The violence (BT)done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
(BU)for the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 (BV)“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, (BW)a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes (BX)speechless idols!
19 (BY)Woe to him (BZ)who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and (CA)there is no breath at all in it.
20 But (CB)the Lord is in his holy temple;
(CC)let all the earth keep silence before him.”
Habakkuk's Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, (CD)I have heard the report of you,
and (CE)your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years (CF)revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
(CG)in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from (CH)Teman,
(CI)and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
4 (CJ)His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5 (CK)Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed (CL)at his heels.[f]
6 He stood (CM)and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the (CN)eternal mountains (CO)were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were (CP)the everlasting ways.
7 I saw the tents of (CQ)Cushan in affliction;
(CR)the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 (CS)Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
(CT)or your indignation against the sea,
(CU)when you rode on your horses,
(CV)on your chariot of salvation?
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows.[g] Selah
(CW)You split the earth with rivers.
10 (CX)The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
(CY)the deep gave forth its voice;
(CZ)it lifted its hands on high.
11 (DA)The sun and moon stood still in their place
(DB)at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
12 (DC)You marched through the earth in fury;
(DD)you threshed the nations in anger.
13 (DE)You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of (DF)your anointed.
(DG)You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.[h] Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15 (DH)You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
16 (DI)I hear, and (DJ)my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
(DK)rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet (DL)I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 (DM)yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
(DN)I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
(DO)he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me (DP)tread on my (DQ)high places.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:15 That is, the wicked foe
- Habakkuk 1:16 Hebrew his portion is fat
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
- Habakkuk 2:5 The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain
- Habakkuk 3:5 Hebrew feet
- Habakkuk 3:9 The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain
- Habakkuk 3:13 The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain
- Habakkuk 3:19 Hebrew my stringed
2 Chronicles 35
English Standard Version
Josiah Keeps the Passover
35 (A)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb (B)on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their offices (C)and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. 3 And he said to the Levites (D)who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves (E)according to your fathers' houses by your divisions, (F)as prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel (G)and the document of Solomon his son. 5 And (H)stand in the Holy Place (I)according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers' household. 6 And slaughter the Passover lamb, and (J)consecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by[a] Moses.”
7 Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; (K)these were from the king's possessions. 8 And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. (L)Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. 9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls.
10 When the service had been prepared for, the priests (M)stood in their place, (N)and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command. 11 (O)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests (P)threw the blood that they received from them (Q)while the Levites flayed the sacrifices. 12 And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. 13 (R)And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they (S)boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. 14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place (T)according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's (U)seer; (V)and the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.
16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, (W)and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18 (X)No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.
Josiah Killed in Battle
20 (Y)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at (Z)Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 21 But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but (AA)disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of (AB)Megiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, (AC)“Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. (AD)All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 (AE)Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all (AF)the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 35:6 Hebrew by the hand of
Hebrews 7
English Standard Version
The Priestly Order of Melchizedek
7 For this (A)Melchizedek, king of (B)Salem, priest of (C)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother (D)or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham (E)the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And (F)those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,[a] though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man (G)who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed (H)him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one (I)of whom it is testified that (J)he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Jesus Compared to Melchizedek
11 (K)Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended (L)from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,
(M)“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside (N)because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for (O)the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, (P)a better hope is introduced, through which (Q)we draw near to God.
20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:
(R)“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”
22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of (S)a better covenant.
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues (T)forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost[b] (U)those who draw near to God (V)through him, since he always lives (W)to make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, (X)holy, innocent, unstained, (Y)separated from sinners, and (Z)exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, (AA)first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this (AB)once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men (AC)in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made (AD)perfect forever.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 7:5 Or brothers and sisters
- Hebrews 7:25 That is, completely; or at all times
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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