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I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.
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They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
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They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them.
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Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”
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Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
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Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
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The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.
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Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.
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Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
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“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—
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“Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’
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Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
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“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!
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You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
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Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
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“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
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The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
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“Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
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The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
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Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
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God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.
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His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.
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Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.
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You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers;
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With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.
