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

Habakkuk Waits for God’s Response

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

The Lord answered me:

Write down this vision;(C)
clearly inscribe it on tablets
so one may easily read it.[b]
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)
Look, his ego is inflated;[c]
he is without integrity.
But the righteous one will live by his faith.[d](E)
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

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)
Won’t your creditors suddenly arise,
and those who disturb you wake up?
Then you will become spoil for them.(H)
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)

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

  1. Habakkuk 2:1 Syr reads what He will
  2. Habakkuk 2:2 Lit one who reads in it may run
  3. Habakkuk 2:4 Hb obscure
  4. Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
  5. Habakkuk 2:5 DSS read wealth
  6. Habakkuk 2:5 Or man does not endure; Hb obscure
  7. Habakkuk 2:9 Or dynasty
  8. Habakkuk 2:15 Or venom
  9. Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX, Aq, Syr, Vg read and stagger
  10. Habakkuk 2:17 DSS, LXX, Aq, Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads them