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

And the Lord answered me:

(D)“Write the vision;
    make it plain on tablets,
    so he may run who reads it.
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.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
    but (H)the righteous shall live by his faith.[a]

“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

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!”
(Q)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
    and those awake who will make you tremble?
    Then you will be spoil for them.
(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.

(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

  1. Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
  2. Habakkuk 2:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
  3. Habakkuk 2:5 The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain

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

Permaneceré en mi puesto como un guardia;
    estaré listo en la torre de defensa.
Esperaré a que me hable
    y responda a la demanda que he presentado.

Dios le responde otra vez

El SEÑOR me respondió así:

«Escribe claramente en tablillas la visión
    para que se pueda leer de corrido.[a]
Esta visión es testimonio
    de que hay un día y una hora señalados.
Aunque parezca que demora en llegar, espéralo;
    porque es seguro que llegará y no tardará.

»El que se cansa de esperar[b] el cumplimiento de la visión
    no se comportará conforme a ella;
    pero el aprobado por Dios vivirá por su fe.[c]
De seguro la riqueza engaña al orgulloso.
    Él es insaciable como la muerte,
    pero eso no le saldrá bien.
Al igual que la muerte,
    nunca queda satisfecho;
se apodera de todos los países
    y agarra para sí todas las naciones.

»Pero después, toda esa gente se burlará de él
    y lo harán objeto de chistes.
Dirán: “Oye tú, que acumulas
    a montones lo que no te pertenece.
Estás cargando con una deuda muy grande,
    ¿hasta cuándo aguantarás así?”
¿No se levantarán de repente en tu contra tus acreedores?
    ¿No se despertarán los que te aterrorizarán?
    Serás un botín para ellos.
Como tú saqueaste muchas naciones,
    las demás naciones te saquearán a ti.
Todo esto sucederá por tus asesinatos
    y por la violencia con la que has llenado países, ciudades y habitantes.

»Oye tú, que te enriqueces
    aprovechándote de los demás,
    con eso sólo consigues arruinar tu casa.
Pensaste que colocando tu nido así de alto,
    quedarías a salvo del peligro.
10 Al destruir tantas naciones
    maquinaste la vergüenza para tu casa,
    pecando contra ti mismo.
11 Hasta las piedras de la muralla gritarán en contra tuya
    y las vigas del techo repetirán las quejas.

12 »Oye tú, que construyes una ciudad
    acabando con la vida de inocentes
    y fundas un pueblo con el crimen.
13 La labor de los pueblos sólo alimenta el fuego.
    Las naciones se fatigan por nada.
    ¿Acaso no es obra del SEÑOR Todopoderoso?
14 La tierra entera se llenará
    del conocimiento de la gloria del SEÑOR,
    así como el agua llena los mares.

15 »Oye tú, que emborrachas a tu semejante;
    lo obligas a embriagarse de la copa de tu ira
    para humillarlo viendo su desnudez.
16 Ahora, tú beberás de la copa
    que el SEÑOR tiene en la mano derecha.
    Emborráchate y expón tu desnudez.
Embriágate de su ira
    y llénate de vergüenza, no de honor.
17 En el Líbano asesinaste a muchos seres humanos
    y mataste bastantes animales.
    Ahora, toda esa maldad te abatirá.
Todo esto sucederá por tus asesinatos
    y por la violencia con la que has llenado países, ciudades y habitantes.

18 »¿De qué sirve el ídolo
    para que lo haga su escultor?
¿De qué sirve hacer una imagen fundida
    o una estatua de un dios falso
para que un escultor deposite toda su confianza
    haciendo ídolos inútiles y mudos?

19 »Oye tú, que le dices a la madera: “¡Despierta!”,
    y a una piedra muda: “¡Levántate!”
¿Acaso los dioses falsos pueden darte enseñanzas?
    Aunque estén hechos de oro y plata, no tienen vida.
20 En cambio, el SEÑOR está en su santo templo:
    que toda la tierra guarde silencio delante de él».

Footnotes

  1. 2:2 Escribe […] de corrido o Escribe claramente la visión en tablillas para que quien la lea corra a contársela a los demás.
  2. 2:4 El que […] esperar Según LXX. TM: los orgullosos.
  3. 2:4 su fe o su fidelidad, creyendo en el mensaje profético de los versículos anteriores que se escribió en tablillas, 2:2-3.