Beginning

1 The burden which Habakkuk the Prophet saw:

² O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear, cry out to You for violence, and You will not help?

³ Why do You show me iniquity and cause me to behold sorrow? For plundering and violence are before me. And there are those who raise strife and contention.

⁴ Therefore, the Law is dissolved, and judgment never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, wrong judgment proceeds.

⁵ “Behold among the heathen, and watch, and wonder, and marvel. For I will work a work in your days. You will not believe it, though it is told to you.

⁶ “For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and furious nation, who shall go upon the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.

⁷ “They are terrible and fearful. Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed themselves.

⁸ “Also, their horses are swifter than leopards, and fiercer than wolves in the evening. And their horsemen are numerous. And their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly as the eagle diving toward prey.

⁹ “They all come to plunder. For their faces shall be an East wind. And they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

¹⁰ “And they shall mock the kings. And the princes shall be a scorn to them. They shall deride every stronghold. For they shall gather dust and take it.

¹¹ “Then they shall take courage and transgress and do wickedly, imputing their power to their god.”

¹² Are not You of old, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have ordained them for judgment! And, O God, You have established them for correction.

¹³ You are of pure Eyes and cannot consider evil. You cannot regard wickedness. Why do You look upon the transgressors and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours the man who is more righteous than he?

¹⁴ And men who have no ruler over them You make as the fish of the sea and as the creeping things.

¹⁵ They take up all with the hook. They catch it in their net and gather it in their fishing net, over which they rejoice and are glad.

¹⁶ Therefore, they sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net, because by them their portion is fat and their food plentiful.

¹⁷ Shall they, therefore, stretch out their net while continuing to slay the nations without pity?

2 I will stand upon my watch and set myself upon the tower, and will look and see what He would say to me, and what I shall answer to Him Who rebukes me.

² And the LORD answered me, and said, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, so that he who reads it may run.

³ “For the vision is yet for an appointed time. But in the end, it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarries, wait. For it shall surely come and shall not delay.

⁴ “Behold, he who lifts himself up, his mind is not upright in him. But the just shall live by his faith.

⁵ “Yea, indeed the proud man is as he who transgresses by wine. Therefore, he shall not endure because he has enlarged his desire as Hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers all nations to himself, and heaps all people for himself.

⁶ “Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his—How long? —and to him who loads himself with heavy debt!

⁷ “Shall not those who bite you rise up suddenly, and those who stir you awaken, and make you their prey?

⁸ “Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and to all who dwell therein.

⁹ “Woe to him who covets an evil gain for his House, so that he may set his nest on high to escape from the power of evil!

¹⁰ “You have consulted shame to your own House by destroying many people and have sinned against your own soul.

¹¹ “For the stone shall cry out of the wall. And out of the timber shall the beam answer it.

¹² “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and erects a city by iniquity.

¹³ “Behold, is it not of the LORD of Hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire? The people shall weary themselves for frivolity.

¹⁴ “For the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁵ “Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink and mixes it with your own skin to make him drunk, so that you may see their nakedness.

¹⁶ “You are filled with shame for glory. You drink also and are uncovered! The cup of the LORD’s right Hand shall be turned to you, and shameful spewing, for your glory.

¹⁷ “For the cruelty of Lebanon shall cover you, as shall the plunder of the beasts which made them afraid because of men’s blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and to all who dwell in them.

¹⁸ “What profit is the image? For the maker has made it an image, and a teacher of lies. Though, he who made it trusts in it when he makes dumb idols.

¹⁹ “Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake,’ and to the dumb stone, ‘Rise up! It shall teach you! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver. And there is no breath in it.

²⁰ “But the LORD is in His Holy Temple. Let all the Earth keep silence before Him.”

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet, for Shiggaion:

² O LORD, I have heard Your voice, and was afraid! O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the people! In the midst of the years make it known! In wrath remember mercy!

³ God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His Glory covers the heavens. And the Earth is full of His praise.

⁴ And His brightness was as the light. He had horns coming out of His Hands. His power was hidden there.

⁵ Before Him went the pestilence. And burning coals went forth before His feet.

⁶ He stood and measured the Earth. He beheld and dissolved the nations. And the everlasting mountains were broken, the ancient hills bowed. His ways are everlasting!

⁷ I saw the tents of Cushan in iniquity. The curtains of the land of Midian trembled!

⁸ Was the LORD displeased with the rivers? Or was Your anger against the rivers? Or was Your wrath against the sea, so that You rode upon Your horses? Your chariots brought salvation.

⁹ Your bow was manifestly revealed. The oaths of the tribes were a sure Word. Selah. You split the earth with rivers.

¹⁰ The mountains saw You, and they trembled! The stream of water passed. The deep made a noise and lifted up its hand on high.

¹¹ The Sun and Moon stood still in their habitation. At the light of Your arrows they went, at the bright shining of Your spears.

¹² You tread down the land in anger, threshed the heathen in displeasure.

¹³ You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your Anointed. You have wounded the head of the House of the wicked, and uncovered it, foundation to neck. Selah.

¹⁴ You struck through the heads of its villages with its own staffs: They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me. Their rejoicing was like devouring the poor secretly.

¹⁵ You walked in the sea with Your horses, upon the heap of great waters.

¹⁶ When I heard, my belly trembled. My lips shook at the voice. Rottenness entered into my bones. And I trembled in myself, so that I might rest in the time of trouble. When He comes up to the people, He shall destroy them.

¹⁷ For the fig tree shall not flourish, nor fruit in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail. And the fields shall yield no food. The sheep shall be cut off from the fold. And there shall be no herd in the stalls.

¹⁸ But I will rejoice in the LORD! I will joy in the God of my salvation!

¹⁹ The LORD God is my strength. He will make my feet like a deer’s feet. And He will make me walk upon my high places. To the chief singer on Neginoth.

1 The Word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah:

² “I will surely destroy all things from off the land,” says the LORD.

³ “I will destroy man and beast. I will destroy the birds of the heaven and the fish of the sea and ruins with the wicked. And I will cut man off from the land,” says the LORD.

⁴ “I will also stretch out My Hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests,

⁵ “and those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those who worship and swear by the LORD, and swear by Milcam,

⁶ “and those who have turned back from the LORD, and those who have neither sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”

⁷ Be still at the presence of the LORD God! For the day of the LORD is at hand. For the LORD has prepared a Sacrifice and has sanctified His guests.

⁸ “And it shall be, on the day of the LORD’s Sacrifice, that I will visit the prince’s and the king’s children, and all who are clothed with strange apparel.

⁹ “At that same time, I will also visit all those who dance upon the threshold so proudly, who fill their masters’ houses by cruelty and deceit.

¹⁰ “And at that time,” says the LORD, “there shall be a noise and cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the second gate, and a great destruction from the hills.

¹¹ “Howl you inhabitants of the low place! For the company of the merchants is destroyed! All those who bear silver are cut off!

¹² “And at that time, I will search Jerusalem with lights and visit the men who are frozen in their dregs, and say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will neither do good nor do evil.’

¹³ “Therefore, their goods shall be plundered, and their houses desolate. They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them. And they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”

¹⁴ The great Day of the LORD is near! It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the Day of the LORD! The strong man shall cry there bitterly.

¹⁵ That Day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and heaviness, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of obscurity and darkness, a day of clouds and blackness,

¹⁶ a day of the trumpet and alarm against the strong cities, and against the high towers.

¹⁷ “And I will bring distress upon men, so that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. And their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

¹⁸ “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy. For He shall make a speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.”

2 Gather yourselves! Gather yourselves—O nation not worthy to be loved—

² before the decree comes forth and you are as chaff that passes in a day, before the fierce wrath of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you!

³ Let all the meek of the Earth who have upheld His judgment seek the LORD—seek righteousness, seek lowliness—if it so be that you may be hidden on the Day of the LORD’s wrath.

⁴ For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate. They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday. And Ekron shall be rooted up.

⁵ Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethims! The Word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you without an inhabitant!”

⁶ And the seacoast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds and sheepfolds.

⁷ And the coast shall be for the remnant of the House of Judah, to feed upon it. In the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down at night. For the LORD their God shall visit them and turn away their captivity.

⁸ “I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the rebukes of the children of Ammon, by which they reproached My people and magnified themselves against their borders.

⁹ “Therefore, as I live,” says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, the breeding of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remains of My people shall plunder them. And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”

¹⁰ This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the LORD of Host’s people.

¹¹ The LORD will be awesome to them. For He will consume all the gods of the Earth. And every man shall worship Him from his place, all the isles of the heathen.

¹² “Also, you Ethiopians shall be killed by My sword with them.”

¹³ And He will stretch out His Hand against the North and destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh desolate and waste like a wilderness.

¹⁴ And flocks shall lie in the midst of her. And all the beasts of the nations and the pelican and the owl shall abide in the upper pillars of it. The voice of birds shall sing in the windows. Desolation shall be upon the doorposts. For the cedars are uncovered.

¹⁵ This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, “I am! And there is none besides me!” How she has been made desolate, and the lodging of the beasts! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and wag his hand.9

3 Woe to her who is filthy and polluted, to the robbing city!

² She did not hear the voice. She did not receive correction. She did not trust in the LORD. She did not draw near to her God.

³ Her princes within her are as roaring lions. Her judges are as evening wolves which do not leave a bone until morning.

⁴ Her prophets are light, wicked people. Her priests have polluted the Sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.

⁵ The just LORD is in their midst. He will do no iniquity. Every morning, He brings His Judgment to light. He does not fail. But the wicked will not learn to be ashamed.

⁶ “I have cut off the nations. Their towers are desolate. I have laid their streets waste, so that no one can pass. Their cities are destroyed, without man and without inhabitant.

⁷ “I said, ‘Surely you will fear me. You will receive instruction,’ so that their dwelling would not be destroyed however I visited them. But they rose early and corrupted all their works.

⁸ “Therefore, wait upon Me,” says the LORD, “until the day that I rise up to the prey. For I am determined to gather the nations. I will assemble the kingdoms, to pour My indignation upon them, all My fierce wrath. For all the Earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.

⁹ “Surely, then, I will return a pure language to the people, so that they may all call upon the Name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent.

¹⁰ “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, the daughter of My dispersed, praying to Me, shall bring Me an Offering.

¹¹ “At that time, you shall not be ashamed of all your works in which you have transgressed against Me. For then I will take away out of your midst those who rejoice in your pride. And you shall no longer be proud on My Holy Mountain.

¹² “Then I will leave a humble and poor people in your midst. They shall trust in the Name of the LORD.

¹³ “The remnant of Israel shall do no iniquity or speak lies. Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. For they shall be fed and lie down. And no one shall make them afraid.”

¹⁴ Rejoice, O daughter Zion! Be joyful, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

¹⁵ The LORD has taken away your judgments. He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst. You shall no longer see evil.

¹⁶ At that time it shall be said to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion! Do not let your hands be faint.

¹⁷ “The LORD your God in your midst is mighty! He will save! He will rejoice over you with joy! He will quiet Himself in His love. He will rejoice over you with joy.”

¹⁸ “After a certain time, I will gather the afflicted among you, those who bore the reproach for it.

¹⁹ “Behold, at that time, I will bruise all who afflict you. And I will save her who halts and gather her who was cast out. And I will gain them praise and fame in all the lands of their shame.

²⁰ “At that time, I will bring you back. And then I will gather you. For I will give you a name and praise among all people of the Earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes,” says the LORD.