Habakkuk 2
New American Standard Bible
God Answers the Prophet
2 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 “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.
5 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.
6 “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!’
7 Will [g]your creditors not (P)rise up suddenly,
And those who [h]collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
8 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.
9 “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 Lord’s 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
- Habakkuk 2:1 Lit upon my reprimand
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or is to proclaim; or reads it may read it fluently
- Habakkuk 2:3 Lit pants
- Habakkuk 2:3 Or lie
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:6 Lit heavy
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit those who bite you
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit violently shake you
- Habakkuk 2:8 Lit of the land
- Habakkuk 2:11 Lit wood
- Habakkuk 2:12 Lit injustice
- Habakkuk 2:15 Another reading is From the cup of your venom
- Habakkuk 2:16 Lit show yourself uncircumcised; DSS and ancient versions stagger
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of Lebanon
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit cover
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit which shattered them
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of the land
- Habakkuk 2:20 Lit Hush before Him, all the earth
Habakkuk 2
English Standard Version
2 I will (A)take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and (B)look out to see (C)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:
(D)“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still (E)the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (F)wait for it;
(G)it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but (H)the righteous shall live by his faith.[a]
5 “Moreover, wine[b] is (I)a traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.[c]
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death (J)he has never enough.
(K)He gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these (L)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
(M)“Woe to him (N)who heaps up what is not his own—
for (O)how long?—
and (P)loads himself with pledges!”
7 (Q)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 (R)Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
(S)for the blood of man and (T)violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 (U)“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
(V)to (W)set his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
(X)by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For (Y)the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 (Z)“Woe to him (AA)who builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that (AB)peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 (AC)For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of (AD)the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 (AE)“Woe to him (AF)who makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze (AG)at their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill (AH)of shame instead of glory.
(AI)Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
(AJ)The cup in the Lord's right hand
will come around to you,
and (AK)utter shame will come upon your glory!
17 (AL)The violence (AM)done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
(AN)for the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 (AO)“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, (AP)a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes (AQ)speechless idols!
19 (AR)Woe to him (AS)who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and (AT)there is no breath at all in it.
20 But (AU)the Lord is in his holy temple;
(AV)let all the earth keep silence before him.”
Footnotes
- 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
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
