Habakkuk 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Reply to the Prophet’s Complaint
2 I will stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me
and what he[a] will answer concerning my complaint.(A)
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.(B)
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.(C)
4 Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faithfulness.(D)
5 Moreover, wealth[b] is treacherous;
the arrogant do not endure.
They open their throats wide as Sheol;
like Death they never have enough.
They gather all nations for themselves
and collect all peoples as their own.(E)
The Woes of the Wicked
6 Shall not everyone taunt such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them,
“Alas for you who heap up what is not your own!”
How long will you load yourselves with goods taken in pledge?(F)
7 Will not your own creditors suddenly rise
and those who make you tremble wake up?
Then you will be plunder for them.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
all who survive of the peoples shall plunder you—
because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who live in them.(G)
9 “Alas for you who get evil gain for your house,
setting your nest on high
to be safe from the reach of harm!”(H)
10 You have devised shame for your house
by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.(I)
11 The very stones will cry out from the wall,
and the rafter will respond from the woodwork.
12 “Alas for you who build a town by bloodshed
and found a city on iniquity!”(J)
13 Is it not from the Lord of hosts
that peoples labor only to feed the flames
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 But the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.(K)
15 “Alas for you who make your neighbors drink,
pouring out your wrath until they are drunk,
in order to gaze on their nakedness!”(L)
16 You will be sated with contempt instead of glory.
Drink, you yourself, and stagger![c]
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and shame will come upon your glory!(M)
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you;
the destruction of the animals will terrify you—[d]
because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who live in them.(N)
18 What use is an idol
once its maker has shaped it—
a cast image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in what has been made,
though the product is only an idol that cannot speak!(O)
19 Alas for you who say to the wood, “Wake up!”
to silent stone, “Rouse yourself!”
Can it teach?
See, it is gold and silver plated,
and there is no breath in it at all.(P)
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth keep silence before him!(Q)
Habakkuk 2
Evangelical Heritage Version
2 I will stand at my watch post and station myself on the city wall. I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint.[a]
The Lord Responds
2 Then the Lord answered me. He said:
Record the vision and write it plainly on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
3 Indeed, the vision is waiting for the appointed time. It longs for fulfillment and will not prove false. If it seems slow in coming, wait for it, because it will certainly come and will not be delayed.
4 Look, his soul is puffed up and is not righteous within him[b]—but the righteous one will live by his faith.[c] 5 Indeed, wine[d] betrays that arrogant and restless one, because he is as greedy as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations and collects all the peoples to himself.
6 All these people will make up proverbs and mocking poems against him, won’t they? They will say, “Woe to the one who accumulates what is not his. (How long will this last?) Woe to the one who makes himself rich by foreclosing on collateral.” 7 Won’t your creditors rise up suddenly? Won’t those who cause you to tremble wake up? You will become plunder for them. 8 Because you robbed many countries, all those who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violence against the land, the cities, and all the people who live in them.
9 Woe to the person who piles up dishonest income for his household, in order to raise his nest up high, to deliver himself from disaster. 10 By wiping out many nations, you have planned shame for your own house. You have sinned against your own life. 11 So the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer, 12 “Woe to the one who builds a town with bloodshed and establishes a town with injustice.”
13 Be sure of this: The Lord of Armies has determined that the things for which the peoples of the world labor are only fuel for the fire, and that the nations tire themselves out with nothing to show for it. 14 So the earth will be as filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters that cover the sea.
15 Woe to the person who gives intoxicating drinks to his neighbors, forcing them to drink from his rage,[e] and making them drunk so that he can look at their nakedness. 16 You will be filled with shame instead of honor. Yes, you yourself will drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and complete disgrace will cover your glory.
17 You will be overwhelmed by the violence you have committed against Lebanon. Your devastation of the animals will terrify you,[f] because you shed human blood and did violence to the land, to the town, and to its inhabitants.
18 What benefit is provided by a carved idol? It was hewn by its maker. What good is a cast statue? It teaches lies. Why would the maker trust his own creation? He makes useless gods that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to a hunk of wood, “Wake up!” or who says, “Get up!” to a stone that cannot speak. Can that thing be your teacher? Although it is covered with gold and silver, there is no life in it at all.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let the whole earth be silent before him.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads what answer to give when I am rebuked, likely because scribes considered Habakkuk to be impudent by demanding an answer from the Lord. The alternate reading is also supported by the Syriac and the parallelism with the preceding line.
- Habakkuk 2:4 The antecedent of his and him is uncertain, and there are other difficulties with the Hebrew. The phrase must refer to an ungodly man—in the immediate context, to the Babylonians.
- Habakkuk 2:4 The word can also mean faithfulness, but in Romans 1:17 Paul uses the phrase in reference to faith.
- Habakkuk 2:5 Hebrew variant wealth
- Habakkuk 2:15 Or from your poison. The Hebrew has a second-person pronoun mixed in with the third-person references.
- Habakkuk 2:17 The Hebrew literally reads and the violence against the animals [which] he terrified. The translation above follows the Greek.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.