God Answers the Prophet

I will (A)stand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will (B)keep watch to see (C)what He will say to me,
And how I may reply [a]when I am reprimanded.
Then the Lord answered me and said,
(D)Write down the vision
And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that one who [b]reads it may run.
For the vision is yet for the (E)appointed time;
It [c]hurries toward the goal and it will not [d]fail.
Though it delays, (F)wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it (G)will not delay long.

“Behold, as for the (H)impudent one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the (I)righteous one will live by his [e]faith.
Furthermore, (J)wine betrays an (K)arrogant man,
So that he does not (L)achieve his objective.
He (M)enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all the nations
And collects to himself all the peoples.

“Will all of these not (N)take up a song of ridicule against him,
Even a saying and insinuations against him
And say, ‘(O)Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself [f]rich with debts!’
Will [g]your creditors not (P)rise up suddenly,
And those who [h]collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
Since you have (Q)looted many nations,
All the rest of the peoples will loot you—
Because of human bloodshed and violence [i]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.

“Woe to him who makes (R)evil profit for his household,
To (S)put his nest on high,
To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!
10 You have planned a (T)shameful thing for your house
By bringing many peoples to an end;
So you are (U)sinning against yourself.
11 For the (V)stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the [j]framework.

12 “Woe to him who (W)builds a city with bloodshed,
And founds a town with [k]violence!
13 Is it not indeed from the Lord of armies
That peoples (X)labor merely for fire,
And nations become weary for nothing?
14 For the earth will be (Y)filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.

15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink;
[l]To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk,
So as to look at their genitalia!
16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
(Z)Drink, you yourself, and [m]expose your own foreskin!
The (AA)cup in the Lords right hand will come around to you,
And (AB)utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 For the (AC)violence [n]done to Lebanon will [o]overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its animals [p]by which you terrified them,
(AD)Because of human bloodshed and (AE)violence [q]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.

18 “What (AF)benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
Or a cast metal image, a (AG)teacher of falsehood?
For its maker (AH)trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 Woe to him who (AI)says to a piece of wood, ‘(AJ)Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
That is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with (AK)gold and silver,
Yet there is (AL)no breath at all inside it.
20 But the (AM)Lord is in His holy temple.
[r]Let all the earth (AN)be silent before Him.”

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 2:1 Lit upon my reprimand
  2. Habakkuk 2:2 Or is to proclaim; or reads it may read it fluently
  3. Habakkuk 2:3 Lit pants
  4. Habakkuk 2:3 Or lie
  5. Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
  6. Habakkuk 2:6 Lit heavy
  7. Habakkuk 2:7 Lit those who bite you
  8. Habakkuk 2:7 Lit violently shake you
  9. Habakkuk 2:8 Lit of the land
  10. Habakkuk 2:11 Lit wood
  11. Habakkuk 2:12 Lit injustice
  12. Habakkuk 2:15 Another reading is From the cup of your venom
  13. Habakkuk 2:16 Lit show yourself uncircumcised; DSS and ancient versions stagger
  14. Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of Lebanon
  15. Habakkuk 2:17 Lit cover
  16. Habakkuk 2:17 Lit which shattered them
  17. Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of the land
  18. Habakkuk 2:20 Lit Hush before Him, all the earth

The Widow’s Gift

21 (A)Now He looked up and saw the wealthy putting their gifts into the temple treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting [a]in (B)two [b]lepta coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all [c]contributed to the [d]offering from their [e]surplus; but she, from her poverty, put in all [f]that she had (C)to live on.”

(D)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and [g]vowed gifts, He said, As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when (E)there will not be left one stone upon [h]another, which will not be torn down.”

They asked Him questions, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the [i]sign when these things are about to take place?” And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘(F)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ (G)Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

Things to Come

10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be [j]massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great [k]signs from heaven.

12 “But before all these things, (H)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, [l]bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name. 13 (I)It will lead to [m]an opportunity for your testimony. 14 (J)So [n]make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for (K)I will provide you [o]eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all people because of My name. 18 And yet (L)not a hair of your head will perish. 19 (M)By your endurance you will gain your [p]lives.

20 “But when you see Jerusalem (N)surrounded by armies, then [q]recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside [r]the city must leave, and (O)those who are in the country must not enter [s]the city; 22 because these are (P)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for (Q)there will be great distress upon the [t]land, and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by (R)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and (S)Jerusalem will be (T)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until (U)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of Christ

25 “There will be [u]signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the [v]world; for the powers of [w]the heavens will be shaken. 27 And (V)then they will see (W)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because (X)your redemption is drawing near.”

29 And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees: 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and (Y)know that summer is now near. 31 So you too, when you see these things happening, [x]recognize that (Z)the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 (AA)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

34 “But (AB)be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that [y]this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth. 36 But (AC)stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to (AD)stand before the Son of Man.”

37 Now [z]during the day He was (AE)teaching in the temple, but [aa](AF)at evening He would go out and spend the night on (AG)the [ab]mountain that is called [ac]Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up (AH)very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 21:2 Lit there
  2. Luke 21:2 The smallest Greek copper coin, about 1/128 of a laborer’s daily wage
  3. Luke 21:4 Lit put into
  4. Luke 21:4 Lit gifts
  5. Luke 21:4 Lit abundance
  6. Luke 21:4 Lit the living that she had
  7. Luke 21:5 I.e., gifts promised by vows
  8. Luke 21:6 Lit a stone
  9. Luke 21:7 I.e., confirming miracle
  10. Luke 21:11 Lit great
  11. Luke 21:11 I.e., confirming miracles
  12. Luke 21:12 Lit being brought
  13. Luke 21:13 Lit a testimony for you
  14. Luke 21:14 Lit put in your hearts
  15. Luke 21:15 Lit a mouth
  16. Luke 21:19 Lit souls
  17. Luke 21:20 Lit know
  18. Luke 21:21 Lit her
  19. Luke 21:21 Lit her
  20. Luke 21:23 Or earth
  21. Luke 21:25 I.e., confirming miracles
  22. Luke 21:26 Lit inhabited earth
  23. Luke 21:26 Or heaven
  24. Luke 21:31 Lit know
  25. Luke 21:34 Lit that day
  26. Luke 21:37 Lit days
  27. Luke 21:37 Lit nights
  28. Luke 21:37 Or hill
  29. Luke 21:37 Or Olive Grove

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