The Daily Audio Bible
Habakkuk Complains to the Lord
1 This is the oracle[a] that the prophet Habakkuk saw:
2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help?
But you do not listen!
I call out to you, “Violence!”
But you do not deliver!
3 Why do you force me to witness injustice?[b]
Why do you put up with wrongdoing?[c]
Destruction and violence confront[d] me;
conflict is present and one must endure strife.[e]
4 For this reason the law lacks power,[f]
and justice is never carried out.[g]
Indeed,[h] the wicked intimidate[i] the innocent.[j]
For this reason justice is perverted.[k]
The Lord’s Surprising Answer
5 “Look at the nations and pay attention![l]
You will be shocked and amazed![m]
For I will do something in your lifetime[n]
that you will not believe even though you are forewarned.[o]
6 Look, I am about to empower[p] the Babylonians,
that ruthless[q] and greedy[r] nation.
They sweep across the surface[s] of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
7 They are frightening and terrifying;
they decide for themselves what is right.[t]
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and more alert[u] than wolves in the desert.[v]
Their horses[w] gallop,[x]
their horses come a great distance;
like vultures[y] they swoop down quickly to devour their prey.[z]
9 All of them intend[aa] to do violence;
every face is determined.[ab]
They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand.[ac]
10 They mock kings
and laugh at rulers.
They laugh at every fortified city;
they build siege ramps[ad] and capture them.
11 They sweep by like the wind and pass on.[ae]
But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty.”[af]
Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns
12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times;[ag]
my sovereign God,[ah] you are immortal.[ai]
Lord, you have made them[aj] your instrument of judgment.[ak]
Protector,[al] you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment.[am]
13 You are too just[an] to tolerate[ao] evil;
you are unable to condone[ap] wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people?[aq]
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour[ar] those more righteous than they are?[as]
14 You made people like fish in the sea,
like animals in the sea[at] that have no ruler.
15 The Babylonian tyrant[au] pulls them all up with a fishhook;
he hauls them in with his throw net.[av]
When he catches[aw] them in his dragnet,
he is very happy.[ax]
16 Because of his success[ay] he offers sacrifices to his throw net
and burns incense to his dragnet;[az]
for because of them he has plenty of food,[ba]
and more than enough to eat.[bb]
17 Will he then[bc] continue to fill and empty his throw net?[bd]
Will he always[be] destroy[bf] nations and spare none?[bg]
2 I will stand at my watch post;
I will remain stationed on the city wall.[bh]
I will keep watching so I can see what he says to me
and can know[bi] how I should answer
when he counters my argument.[bj]
The Lord Assures Habakkuk
2 The Lord responded:[bk]
“Write down this message.[bl]
Record it legibly on tablets
so the one who announces[bm] it may read it easily.[bn]
3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed;[bo]
it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out.[bp]
Even if the message[bq] is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently;[br]
for it will certainly come to pass—it will not arrive late.
4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion,[bs]
but the person of integrity[bt] will live[bu] because of his faithfulness.[bv]
5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man![bw]
His appetite[bx] is as big as Sheol’s;[by]
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers[bz] all the nations;
he seizes[ca] all peoples.
The Proud Babylonians Are as Good as Dead
6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him[cb]
and ridicule him with proverbial sayings:[cc]
‘Woe to the one who accumulates[cd] what does not belong to him
(How long will this go on?)[ce]—
he who gets rich by extortion!’[cf]
7 Your creditors will suddenly attack;[cg]
those who terrify you will spring into action,[ch]
and they will rob you.[ci]
8 Because you robbed many countries,[cj]
all who are left among the nations[ck] will rob you.
You have shed human blood
and committed violent acts against lands, cities,[cl] and those who live in them.
9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead.[cm]
He does this so he can build his nest way up high
and escape the clutches of disaster.[cn]
10 Your schemes will bring shame to your house.
Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct.[co]
11 For the stones in the walls will cry out,
and the wooden rafters will answer back.[cp]
12 Woe to the one who builds a city by bloodshed—
he who starts[cq] a town by unjust deeds.
13 Be sure of this! The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has decreed:
The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke;
their exhausting work will be for nothing.[cr]
14 For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth
just as the waters fill up the sea.[cs]
15 “Woe to you who force your neighbor to drink wine[ct]—
you who make others intoxicated
by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger[cu]
so you can look at their naked bodies.[cv]
16 But you will become drunk[cw] with shame, not majesty.[cx]
Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin![cy]
The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand[cz] is coming to you,
and disgrace will replace your majestic glory!
17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon;[da]
terrifying judgment will come upon you
because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there.[db]
You have shed human blood
and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.
18 What good[dc] is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it?[dd]
What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles?[de]
Why would its creator place his trust in it[df]
and make[dg] such mute, worthless things?
19 Woe to the one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’—
he who says[dh] to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’
Can it give reliable guidance?[di]
It is overlaid with gold and silver;
it has no life’s breath inside it.
20 But the Lord is in his majestic palace.[dj]
The whole earth is speechless in his presence!”[dk]
Habakkuk’s Vision of the Divine Warrior
3 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet:[dl]
2 Lord, I have heard the report of what you did;[dm]
I am awed,[dn] Lord, by what you accomplished.[do]
In our time[dp] repeat those deeds;[dq]
in our time reveal them again.[dr]
But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy![ds]
3 God comes[dt] from Teman,[du]
the Holy One[dv] from Mount Paran.[dw] Selah.[dx]
His splendor has covered the skies,[dy]
the earth is full of his glory.[dz]
4 His brightness will be as lightning;[ea]
a two-pronged lightning bolt flashing from his hand.[eb]
This is the outward display of his power.[ec]
5 Plague will go[ed] before him;
pestilence[ee] will march[ef] right behind him.[eg]
6 He took his battle position[eh] and shook[ei] the earth;
with a mere look he frightened[ej] the nations.
The ancient mountains disintegrated;[ek]
the primeval hills were flattened.
His are ancient roads.[el]
7 I saw the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble;[em]
the tent curtains of the land of Midian were[en] shaking.[eo]
8 Was[ep] the Lord mad at the rivers?
Were you angry with the rivers?
Were you enraged at the sea?[eq]
Such that[er] you would climb into your horse-drawn chariots,[es]
your victorious chariots?[et]
9 Your bow is ready for action;[eu]
you commission your arrows.[ev] Selah.
You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface.[ew]
10 When the mountains see you, they shake.
The torrential downpour sweeps through.[ex]
The great deep[ey] shouts out;
it lifts its hands high.[ez]
11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses;[fa]
the flash of your arrows drives them away,[fb]
the bright light of your lightning-quick spear.[fc]
12 You furiously stomp on the earth;
you angrily trample down the nations.
13 You march out to deliver your people,
to deliver your special servant.[fd]
You strike the leader of the wicked nation,[fe]
laying him open from the lower body to the neck.[ff] Selah.
14 You pierce the heads of his warriors[fg] with a spear.[fh]
They storm forward to scatter us;[fi]
they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition.[fj]
15 But you trample on the sea with your horses,
on the surging, raging waters.[fk]
Habakkuk Declares His Confidence
16 I listened and my stomach churned;[fl]
the sound made my lips quiver.
My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying,[fm]
and I shook as I tried to walk.[fn]
I long[fo] for the day of distress
to come upon[fp] the people who attack us.
17 When[fq] the fig tree does not bud,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
when the olive trees do not produce[fr]
and the fields yield no crops;[fs]
when the sheep disappear[ft] from the pen
and there are no cattle in the stalls—
18 I will rejoice because of[fu] the Lord;
I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my source of strength.[fv]
He gives me the agility of a deer;[fw]
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.[fx]
(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)[fy]
9 Then[a] the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky[b] to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.[c] 2 He[d] opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it[e] like smoke from a giant furnace. The[f] sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft. 3 Then[g] out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power[h] like that of the scorpions of the earth. 4 They[i] were told[j] not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people[k] who did not have the seal of God on their[l] forehead. 5 The locusts[m] were not given permission[n] to kill[o] them, but only to torture[p] them[q] for five months, and their torture was like that[r] of a scorpion when it stings a person.[s] 6 In[t] those days people[u] will seek death, but[v] will not be able to[w] find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 Now[x] the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On[y] their heads were something like crowns similar to gold,[z] and their faces looked like men’s[aa] faces. 8 They[ab] had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates[ac] like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. 10 They have[ad] tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability[ae] to injure people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.[af]
12 The first woe has passed, but[ag] two woes are still coming after these things!
13 Then[ah] the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice coming from the[ai] horns on the golden altar that is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding[aj] the trumpet, “Set free[ak] the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 15 Then[al] the four angels who had been prepared for this[am] hour, day,[an] month, and year were set free to kill[ao] a third of humanity. 16 The[ap] number of soldiers on horseback was 200,000,000;[aq] I heard their number. 17 Now[ar] this is what the horses and their riders[as] looked like in my[at] vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red,[au] dark blue,[av] and sulfurous[aw] yellow in color.[ax] The[ay] heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur[az] came out of their mouths. 18 A third of humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is,[ba] by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19 For the power[bb] of the horses resides[bc] in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes, having heads that inflict injuries. 20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made[bd] of gold, silver,[be] bronze, stone, and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. 21 Furthermore,[bf] they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells,[bg] of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.
Psalm 137[a]
137 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep[b]
when we remember Zion.
2 On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs;[c]
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:[d]
“Sing for us a song about Zion!”[e]
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled.[f]
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy.[g]
7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.[h]
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,[i]
right to its very foundation!”
8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated,[j]
how blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us.[k]
9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock.[l]
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