The Folly of Indolence

(A)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no [a]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her [b]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
(B)How long will you [c]slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 (C)So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.

The Wicked Man

12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
Walks with a perverse mouth;
13 (D)He winks with his eyes,
He [d]shuffles his feet,
He points with his fingers;
14 Perversity is in his heart,
(E)He devises evil continually,
(F)He sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity shall come (G)suddenly;
Suddenly he shall (H)be broken (I)without remedy.

16 These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to [e]Him:
17 (J)A[f] proud look,
(K)A lying tongue,
(L)Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 (M)A heart that devises wicked plans,
(N)Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 (O)A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who (P)sows discord among brethren.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:7 Lit. leader
  2. Proverbs 6:8 Lit. bread
  3. Proverbs 6:9 Lit. lie down
  4. Proverbs 6:13 gives signals, lit. scrapes
  5. Proverbs 6:16 Lit. His soul
  6. Proverbs 6:17 Lit. Haughty eyes

The Lord’s Reply

“Look(A) among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
For indeed I am (B)raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty (C)nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses also are (D)swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their [a]chargers [b]charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the (E)eagle that hastens to eat.

“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his [c]mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
(F)Ascribing this power to his god.”

The Prophet’s Second Question

12 Are You not (G)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, (H)You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for (I)correction.
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. horsemen
  2. Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. spring about
  3. Habakkuk 1:11 Lit. spirit or wind

The Lord’s Reply

“Look(A) among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
For indeed I am (B)raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty (C)nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses also are (D)swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their [a]chargers [b]charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the (E)eagle that hastens to eat.

“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his [c]mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
(F)Ascribing this power to his god.”

The Prophet’s Second Question

12 Are You not (G)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, (H)You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for (I)correction.
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. horsemen
  2. Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. spring about
  3. Habakkuk 1:11 Lit. spirit or wind

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