Beginning
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
and You will not hear?
Or cry to You, “Violence!”
and You will not save?
3 Why do You make me see wickedness,
and cause me to see trouble?
Plundering and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
therefore injustice proceeds.
The Lord’s Answer
5 Look among the nations, and watch—
wonder and be amazed!
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe,
though it were told you.
6 For I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation
which marches through the breadth of the earth,
to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
their justice and their dignity
proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than evening wolves.
Their horsemen charge on;
their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like the eagle that hastens to eat.
9 They all come for violence;
their forces advance like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
and they scorn rulers.
They deride every stronghold,
for they build up siege ramps to capture it.
11 Then their mind changes,
and they transgress and commit offense;
their own power is their god.
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One? We will not die.
O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment;
and You, O Rock, have established them for correction.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,
and You cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
and hold Your tongue when the wicked
devours the man who is more righteous than he?
14 You make men like fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 They bring all of them up with a hook,
they catch them in their net;
they gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net
and burn incense to their dragnet;
for by them their portion is extravagant,
and their food plentiful.
17 Shall they continue to empty their net,
and continually kill the nations while not sparing anyone?
2 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the watchtower;
and I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,
and what I will answer when I am reproved.
The Just Shall Live by Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
Write the vision,
and make it plain on tablets,
that he who reads it may run.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
but it speaks of the end,
and does not lie.
If it delays, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look, his soul is lifted up;
it is not upright in him;
but the just shall live by his faith.
5 Indeed, wine betrays the proud man,
who does not stay at home.
He enlarges his appetite as Sheol,
and like death he is never satisfied.
He gathers to himself all nations
and collects for himself all peoples.
Woe to the Wicked
6 Shall not all these take up a taunt against him, with satire and riddles, and say,
“Woe to him who increases what is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with heavy debts!”
7 Shall not your debtors rise up suddenly,
and those awake who oppress you?
Then you will be their plunder.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the people will plunder you,
because of the bloodshed of men and violence of the land,
of the cities and all who live in them.
9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
to set his nest on high,
to be delivered from the power of calamity!”
10 You have given shameful counsel to your house
by cutting off many peoples,
and forfeiting your life.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam of the woodwork will answer it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed
and establishes a city on iniquity!”
13 Is it not from the Lord of Hosts
that the people labor to feed fire,
and the nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the seas.
15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink,
pouring out your poison until they are drunk,
that you may look on their nakedness!”
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
You yourself—drink and show your uncircumcision!
The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you,
and utter shame will come on your glory!
17 The violence done to Lebanon will cover you,
as will the plunder of beasts that terrified them,
because of the bloodshed of men and violence of the land,
of the cities and all who live in them.
18 What profit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
a cast image, and a teacher of lies,
that its maker trusts in what he has shaped
when he makes mute idols?
19 Woe to him who says to the wood, “Awake!”
To the silent stone, “Arise!” Can it teach?
It is overlaid with gold and silver,
and there is no breath at all in it.
20 But the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.
The Prayer of Habakkuk
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard the report of You,
and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work
in the midst of the years!
In the midst of these years
make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of His praise.
4 His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from His hand,
and there His power was hidden.
5 Pestilence went out before Him,
and plague followed His feet.
6 He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and shook the nations.
The eternal mountains were scattered,
the perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
the curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
8 Were you displeased with the rivers, O Lord?
Was Your anger against the rivers,
and was Your wrath against the sea
when You rode on Your horses,
on Your chariots of salvation?
9 You made bare Your bow;
oaths were the arrows at Your command. Selah
You divided the earth with the rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and trembled;
the overflowing water passed by.
The deep lifted its voice,
and lifted its hands on high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in their places;
at the light of Your arrows they went,
at the flash of Your glittering spear.
12 You marched throughout the earth in indignation;
You threshed the nations in anger.
13 You went forth to deliver Your people,
to deliver Your anointed one.
You wounded the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from head to foot. Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows
the leaders of his villages.
They came like a whirlwind to scatter me;
their rejoicing was like devouring the poor in secret.
15 You trampled the sea with Your horses,
through the wakes of great waters.
16 I heard, and my body trembled;
my lips quivered at the sound;
rottenness entered my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will wait quietly for the day
when calamity comes on the people invading us.
A Hymn of Faith
17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines;
though the yield of the olive fails,
and the fields produce no food;
though the flocks are cut off from the fold,
and there be no herd in the stalls—
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like hinds’ feet,
and He will make me walk on my high places.
To the Music Director: with my stringed instruments.
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.
The Great Day of the Lord
2 I will utterly consume all things
on the face of the earth,
says the Lord;
3 I will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the stumbling blocks with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the land,
says the Lord.
4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah,
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal,
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 and those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of heaven;
those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord
and yet swear by Milcom;
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who have not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him.
7 Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared the sacrifice;
He has consecrated His guests.
8 On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
I will punish the officials
and the king’s sons,
and all who clothe themselves
with foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
all who step over the threshold,
who fill their masters’ houses
with violence and deceit.
10 On that day, says the Lord,
a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the merchants are cut down;
all those who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are settled on their lees,
who say in their heart,
“The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.”
13 Their goods will be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they will not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink from their wine.
The Great Day of the Lord
14 The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening quickly.
The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man shall cry out there.
15 That day is a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of ruin and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16 a day of trumpet and alarms
against the fortified cities
and against the high towers.
17 I will bring distress on men,
so that they will walk like blind men.
Because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood will be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to deliver them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.
But the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of His jealousy,
for He will make a sudden end
of all those who dwell on the earth.
Judgment on the Nations
2 Gather together, yes, gather together,
O shameless nation,
2 before the decree takes effect,
before the day passes like chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who carry out His judgment.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For Gaza will be forsaken,
and Ashkelon a desolation;
Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
and Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
the nation of Kerethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines:
I will destroy you,
so that there will be no inhabitant.
6 The seacoast will be pastures,
with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah,
on which they will feed.
In the houses of Ashkelon
they will lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will visit them
and restore their fortunes.
8 I have heard these taunts of Moab,
and the revilings of the Ammonites,
by which they have reproached My people,
and made boasts against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,
says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel,
surely Moab will be like Sodom,
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—
a land of weeds and salt pits,
and a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will plunder them,
and the survivors of My nation will possess them.
10 This will they have for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted against
the people of the Lord of Hosts.
11 The Lord will be dreadful to them,
for He will weaken all the gods of the earth;
men will worship Him, every one from his place,
all the lands of the nations.
12 You also, O Ethiopians,
will be slain by My sword.
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north
and destroy Assyria;
and He will make Nineveh a desolation,
and dry like the desert.
14 Herds will lie down in her midst,
beasts of every kind;
the cormorant and the bittern
will lodge on her pillars.
Their voice will sing in the windows;
desolation will be on the threshold;
for He will lay bare the cedar work.
15 This is the rejoicing city
that dwelt securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How has she become a desolation,
a place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her will hiss
and shake his fist.
Woe to Jerusalem
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city.
2 She obeys no voice,
she receives no correction;
she does not trust in the Lord,
she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves
who leave nothing until the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless,
treacherous men;
her priests have profaned the sanctuary
and done violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst;
He does no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He does not fail,
but the unjust knows no shame.
6 I have cut off nations,
their strongholds are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
with no one passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
there is no man, no inhabitant.
7 I said,
“Surely you will fear Me;
and you will receive correction.”
So her dwelling will not be cut off,
according to all that I have appointed against her.
But they were more eager
to corrupt all their deeds.
The Conversion of the Nations
8 Therefore wait for Me, declares the Lord,
until the day when I rise up to seize the plunder;
for My decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour on them My indignation,
all My fierce anger;
for all the earth will be devoured
with the fire of My jealousy.
9 For then I will restore to the peoples a pure speech
that all of them may call on the name of the Lord,
to serve Him with one accord.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshippers, the daughter of My dispersed ones,
will bring My offering.
11 On that day you will not be ashamed
for all your deeds by which you have transgressed against Me;
for then I will remove from your midst
those who rejoice in your pride,
and you will no longer be haughty
in My holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
a meek and humble people,
and they will trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no unrighteousness,
nor speak lies;
nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
for they will feed and lie down,
and no one will make them afraid.
Israel’s Song of Joy
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you will see evil no more.
16 On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands be slack.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a Mighty One, who will save.
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will renew you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
18 I will gather those who grieve
for the appointed festival,
which is a reproach and burden on you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppress you;
I will save the lame
and gather the outcast;
I will give them praise and fame
in every land where they have been put to shame.
20 At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,
says the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.