Habakkuk 2
New King James Version
The Just Shall Live by Faith
2 I will (A)stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
The Just Live by Faith
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
(B)“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For (C)the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will (D)not lie.
Though it tarries, (E)wait for it;
Because it will (F)surely come,
It will not tarry.
4 “Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the (G)just shall live by his faith.
Woe to the Wicked
5 “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,
He is a proud man,
And he does not stay at home.
Because he (H)enlarges his desire as [a]hell,
And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,
He gathers to himself all nations
And heaps up for himself all peoples.
6 “Will not all these (I)take up a proverb against him,
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with [b]many pledges’?
7 Will not [c]your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
8 (J)Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s [d]blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
9 “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house,
That he may (K)set his nest on high,
That he may be delivered from the [e]power of disaster!
10 You give shameful counsel to your house,
Cutting off many peoples,
And sin against your soul.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed,
Who establishes a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts
That the peoples labor [f]to feed the fire,
And nations weary themselves in vain?
14 For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor,
[g]Pressing him to your (L)bottle,
Even to make him drunk,
That you may look on [h]his nakedness!
16 You are filled with shame instead of glory.
You also—drink!
And [i]be exposed as uncircumcised!
The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you,
And utter shame will be on your glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you,
And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
18 “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it,
The molded image, a teacher of lies,
That the maker of its mold should trust in it,
To make mute idols?
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’
To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
Yet in it there is no breath at all.
20 “But(M) the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:5 Or Sheol
- Habakkuk 2:6 Syr., Vg. thick clay
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit. those who bite you
- Habakkuk 2:8 Or bloodshed
- Habakkuk 2:9 Lit. hand of evil
- Habakkuk 2:13 Lit. for what satisfies fire, for what is of no lasting value
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit. Attaching or Joining
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit. their
- Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX reel!; Syr., Vg. fall fast asleep!
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
Chabakuk 2
Orthodox Jewish Bible
2 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the matzor (rampart), and will watch to see what Hashem will speak in me, and what He shall answer to my tokhakhah (complaint).
2 And Hashem answered me, and said, Write the chazon, and make it plain upon tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the chazon is yet for a mo’ed (an appointed time); it speaks of HaKetz (the End), and does not lie; though it tarry, wait for him [Moshiach— see Sanhedrin 97b]; because he will surely come, and will not tarry.
4 Hinei, his nashamah which is puffed up is not upright in him; but the tzaddik shall live by his emunah. [Bereshis 15:6]
5 Yea also, yayin is a boged (betrayer, treacherous); he is a proud man, never at rest, who enlargeth his appetite as Sheol; like Mavet, it cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto it kol HaGoyim, and collecteth unto it kol HaAmim;
6 Shall not all these take up a mashal against such, with mocking poem riddles against him, and say, Hoy (Woe) to him that increaseth that which is not his! For how long? And to him that loadeth himself by the weight of pledges (i.e., heaps up by borrowing)!
7 Shall not thy biters (charging neshekh) arise suddenly and awake that shall oppress thee, and thou shalt be for plunder unto them?
8 Because thou hast plundered many Goyim, all the remnant of the Amim shall plunder thee; because of [shefach] dahm, and for the chamas eretz, the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9 Hoy (Woe) to him that coveteth an evil gain for his bais, that he may set his ken (nest) on high, that he may be delivered from the power of ruin!
10 Thy counsel hast brought shame to thy bais by cutting off amim rabbim and hast sinned against thy nashamah.
11 For the even (stone) shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Hoy (Woe) to him that buildeth a town with [shefach] dahm, and foundeth a city by iniquity!
13 Hinei, is it not from Hashem Tzva’os that the people shall labor only to feed the eish, and the people shall weary themselves in vain?
14 For the earth shall be filled with the da’as of the kavod Hashem, as the waters cover the yam.
15 Hoy (Woe) unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, pressing thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
16 Thou art filled with shame instead of kavod; drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered; the kos of Hashem’s right hand shall be turned against thee, and utter shame shall be on thy kavod.
17 For the chamas of the Levanon shall cover thee, and the decimation of animals, by which you terrorized them, because of [shefach] dahm, and for the chamas eretz, and to the city, and all that dwell therein.
18 What profiteth the pesel (graven image) that the maker thereof hath shaped it; the molten image, and moreh sheker, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb elilim (idols)?
19 Hoy (woe) unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb even (stone), Arise, it shall teach! Hinei, it is laid over with zahav and kesef, and there is no ruach at all in it.
20 But Hashem is in His Heikhal Kodesh; let kol ha’aretz keep silence before Him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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