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Habakkuk 2
Legacy Standard Bible
Habakkuk 2
Legacy Standard Bible
The Righteous Will Live by His Faith
2 I will (A)stand on my guard post
And station myself on the fortification;
And I will (B)keep watch to see (C)what He will speak to me
And how I may respond [a]when I am reproved.
2 Then Yahweh answered me and said,
“(D)Write down the vision
And write it on tablets distinctly,
That [b]the one who [c]reads it may run.
3 For the vision is yet for the (E)appointed time;
It pants toward its end, and it will not [d]lie.
Though it tarries, (F)wait for it;
For it will certainly come; it (G)will not delay.
4 “Behold, as for the (H)proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the (I)righteous will live by his [e]faith.
5 And indeed, (J)wine betrays the (K)haughty man
So that he does not (L)stay at home.
He (M)enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all nations
And assembles to himself all peoples.
6 “Will not all of these (N)lift up a taunt-song against him,
Even satire and riddles against him
And say, ‘(O)Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself [f]rich with loans?’
7 Will not [g]your creditors (P)rise up suddenly,
And those who make you tremble awaken?
Indeed, you will become spoil for them.
8 Because you have (Q)taken many nations as spoil,
All that is left of the peoples will take you as spoil—
Because of human bloodshed and violence [h]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
9 “Woe to him who is greedy for (R)evil gain for his house
To (S)put his nest on high,
To be delivered from the hand of evil!
10 You have counseled a (T)shameful thing for your house
By cutting off many peoples;
So you are (U)sinning against your own soul.
11 Surely the (V)stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the [i]framework.
12 “Woe to him who (W)builds a city with bloodshed
And founds a town with injustice!
13 Is it not, behold, from Yahweh of hosts
That peoples (X)toil for fire,
And nations grow weary for nothing?
14 For the earth will be (Y)filled
With the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to you who make [j]your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!
16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than glory.
Now you yourself (Z)drink and [k]expose your own nakedness.
The (AA)cup in Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you,
And (AB)utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 For the (AC)violence [l]done to Lebanon will cover you,
And the devastation of its beasts [m]by which you terrified them,
(AD)Because of human bloodshed and (AE)violence [n]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
18 “What (AF)profit is the graven image when its maker has engraved it,
Or a molten image, a (AG)teacher of [o]lies?
For its maker (AH)trusts in his own making
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 Woe to him who (AI)says to a piece of wood, ‘(AJ)Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with (AK)gold and silver,
And there is (AL)no breath at all inside it.
20 But (AM)Yahweh is in His holy temple.
[p]Let all the earth (AN)be silent before Him.”
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 Lit upon my reproof
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or one may read it fluently
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or is to proclaim it
- Habakkuk 2:3 Or fail
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:6 Lit heavy
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit those who bite you
- Habakkuk 2:8 Lit of the land
- Habakkuk 2:11 Lit wood
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit his neighbor
- Habakkuk 2:16 As in DSS and ancient versions; or stagger; lit show yourself uncircumcised
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of Lebanon
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit which terrified them
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of the land
- Habakkuk 2:18 Lit a lie
- Habakkuk 2:20 Lit Hush before Him, all the earth
Habakkuk 2
New International Version
Habakkuk 2
New International Version
2 I will stand at my watch(A)
and station myself on the ramparts;(B)
I will look to see what he will say(C) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a](D)
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write(E) down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;(F)
it speaks of the end(G)
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait(H) for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.(I)
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person(J) will live by his faithfulness[d](K)—
5 indeed, wine(L) betrays him;
he is arrogant(M) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,(N)
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive(O) all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt(P) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(Q)
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.(R)
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.(S)
For you have shed human blood;(T)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(U)
9 “Woe to him who builds(V) his house by unjust gain,(W)
setting his nest(X) on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin(Y) of many peoples,
shaming(Z) your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones(AA) of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed(AB)
and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,(AC)
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?(AD)
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory(AE) of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.(AF)
15 “Woe to him who gives drink(AG) to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame(AH) instead of glory.(AI)
Now it is your turn! Drink(AJ) and let your nakedness be exposed[e]!(AK)
The cup(AL) from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence(AM) you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.(AN)
For you have shed human blood;(AO)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value(AP) is an idol(AQ) carved by a craftsman?
Or an image(AR) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.(AS)
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’(AT)
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;(AU)
there is no breath in it.”(AV)
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
- Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith
- Habakkuk 2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagger
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