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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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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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You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
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I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
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For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
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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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indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.
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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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Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey.
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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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You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
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The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
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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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For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
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You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
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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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You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot.
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I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.
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yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
