Habakkuk 2:5-20
English Standard Version
5 “Moreover, wine[a] is (A)a traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.[b]
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death (B)he has never enough.
(C)He gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these (D)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
(E)“Woe to him (F)who heaps up what is not his own—
for (G)how long?—
and (H)loads himself with pledges!”
7 (I)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 (J)Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
(K)for the blood of man and (L)violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 (M)“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
(N)to (O)set his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
(P)by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For (Q)the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 (R)“Woe to him (S)who builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that (T)peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 (U)For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of (V)the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 (W)“Woe to him (X)who makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze (Y)at their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill (Z)of shame instead of glory.
(AA)Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
(AB)The cup in the Lord's right hand
will come around to you,
and (AC)utter shame will come upon your glory!
17 (AD)The violence (AE)done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
(AF)for the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 (AG)“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, (AH)a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes (AI)speechless idols!
19 (AJ)Woe to him (AK)who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and (AL)there is no breath at all in it.
20 But (AM)the Lord is in his holy temple;
(AN)let all the earth keep silence before him.”
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
- Habakkuk 2:5 The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain
Habakkuk 2:5-20
Common English Bible
5 Moreover, wine betrays an arrogant man.
He doesn’t rest.
He opens his jaws[a] like the grave;[b]
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers all nations to himself
and collects all peoples for himself.
6 Won’t everyone tell parables about him
or mocking poems concerning him?
They will say:
Doom to the one who multiplies what doesn’t belong to him
and who increases his own burden.
How long?
7 Won’t they suddenly rise up to bite you?
Those who frighten you will awaken;
you will become plunder for them.
8 Since you yourself have plundered many nations,
all the rest of the peoples will plunder you
because of the human bloodshed
and the violence done to the earth,
to every village, and to all its inhabitants.
9 Doom to the one making evil gain for his own house,
for putting his own nest up high,
for delivering himself from the grasp of calamity.
10 You plan shame for your own house,
cutting off many peoples
and sinning against your own life.
11 A stone will cry out from a village wall,
and a tree branch will respond.
12 Pity the one building a city with bloodshed
and founding a village with injustice.
13 Look, isn’t this from the Lord of heavenly forces?
Peoples grow weary from making just enough fire;
nations become tired for nothing.[c]
14 But the land will be full of the knowledge of the Lord’s glory,
just as water covers the sea.
15 Doom to the one who makes his companions drunk,
pouring out your wrath in order to see them naked.[d]
16 You have drunk your fill of dishonor rather than glory.
So drink and stagger.[e]
The cup of the Lord’s strong hand will come around to you;
disgrace will engulf you.
17 Because of the violence done to Lebanon, he will overwhelm you;
the destruction of animals will terrify you,
as will human bloodshed and violence throughout the land, the villages,
and all their inhabitants.[f]
18 Of what value is an idol, when its potter carves it,
or a cast image that has been shaped?
It is a teacher of lies,
for the potter trusts the pottery, though it is incapable of speaking.
19 Doom to the one saying to the tree, “Wake up!”
or “Get up” to the silent stone.
Does it teach?
Look, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
but there is no breath within it.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:5 Or throat
- Habakkuk 2:5 Heb Sheol
- Habakkuk 2:13 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 2:15 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX; MT uncircumcised
- Habakkuk 2:17 Heb uncertain
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible