Habakkuk 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Habakkuk Waits for God’s Response
2 I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on the lookout tower.(A)
I will watch to see what He will say to me(B)
and what I should[a] reply about my complaint.
God’s Second Answer
2 The Lord answered me:
Write down this vision;(C)
clearly inscribe it on tablets
so one may easily read it.[b]
3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
it testifies about the end and will not lie.
Though it delays, wait for it,
since it will certainly come and not be late.(D)
4 Look, his ego is inflated;[c]
he is without integrity.
But the righteous one will live by his faith.[d](E)
5 Moreover, wine[e] betrays;
an arrogant man is never at rest.[f]
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
and like Death he is never satisfied.(F)
He gathers all the nations to himself;
he collects all the peoples for himself.
The Five Woe Oracles
6 Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him,
with mockery and riddles about him?
They will say:
Woe to him who amasses what is not his—
how much longer?—
and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.(G)
7 Won’t your creditors suddenly arise,
and those who disturb you wake up?
Then you will become spoil for them.(H)
8 Since you have plundered many nations,
all the peoples who remain will plunder you—
because of human bloodshed
and violence against lands, cities,
and all who live in them.(I)
9 Woe to him who dishonestly makes
wealth for his house[g]
to place his nest on high,
to escape from the reach of disaster!(J)
10 You have planned shame for your house
by wiping out many peoples
and sinning against your own self.
11 For the stones will cry out(K) from the wall,
and the rafters will answer them
from the woodwork.
12 Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and founds a town with injustice!(L)
13 Is it not from the Lord of Hosts
that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire
and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?(M)
14 For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory,
as the waters cover the sea.(N)
15 Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink,
pouring out your wrath[h]
and even making them drunk,
in order to look at their nakedness!
16 You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory.
You also—drink,
and expose your uncircumcision![i]
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and utter disgrace will cover your glory.(O)
17 For your violence against Lebanon
will overwhelm you;
the destruction of animals will terrify you[j]
because of your human bloodshed and violence
against lands, cities, and all who live in them.
18 What use is a carved idol
after its craftsman carves it?
It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies.
For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it
and makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up!
or to mute stone: Come alive!
Can it teach?
Look! It may be plated with gold and silver,
yet there is no breath in it at all.
20 But the Lord is in His holy temple;
let everyone on earth
be silent in His presence.(P)
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 Syr reads what He will
- Habakkuk 2:2 Lit one who reads in it may run
- Habakkuk 2:4 Hb obscure
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:5 DSS read wealth
- Habakkuk 2:5 Or man does not endure; Hb obscure
- Habakkuk 2:9 Or dynasty
- Habakkuk 2:15 Or venom
- Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX, Aq, Syr, Vg read and stagger
- Habakkuk 2:17 DSS, LXX, Aq, Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads them
Habakkuk 2
Common English Bible
2 I 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[a] will respond to my complaint.
The Lord responds
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
so that a runner can read it.[b]
3 There is still a vision for the appointed time;
it testifies to the end;
it does not deceive.[c]
If it delays, wait for it;
for it is surely coming; it will not be late.
4 Some people’s desires are truly audacious;[d]
they don’t do the right thing.
But the righteous person will live honestly.
5 Moreover, wine betrays an arrogant man.
He doesn’t rest.
He opens his jaws[e] like the grave;[f]
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers all nations to himself
and collects all peoples for himself.
6 Won’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?
7 Won’t they suddenly rise up to bite you?
Those who frighten you will awaken;
you will become plunder for them.
8 Since 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.
9 Doom 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.
10 You plan shame for your own house,
cutting off many peoples
and sinning against your own life.
11 A stone will cry out from a village wall,
and a tree branch will respond.
12 Pity the one building a city with bloodshed
and founding a village with injustice.
13 Look, isn’t this from the Lord of heavenly forces?
Peoples grow weary from making just enough fire;
nations become tired for nothing.[g]
14 But the land will be full of the knowledge of the Lord’s glory,
just as water covers the sea.
15 Doom to the one who makes his companions drunk,
pouring out your wrath in order to see them naked.[h]
16 You have drunk your fill of dishonor rather than glory.
So drink and stagger.[i]
The cup of the Lord’s strong hand will come around to you;
disgrace will engulf you.
17 Because 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.[j]
18 Of 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.
19 Doom 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.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 Syr he; MT I
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or a reader can run with it
- Habakkuk 2:3 Heb uncertain; antecedants to pronouns in 2:3-6 are uncertain.
- Habakkuk 2:4 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 2:5 Or throat
- Habakkuk 2:5 Heb Sheol
- Habakkuk 2:13 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 2:15 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX; MT uncircumcised
- Habakkuk 2:17 Heb uncertain
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