Historical
God Is Awesome
1 The [a](A)oracle of (B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 A (C)jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is (D)avenging and [b]wrathful.
The Lord takes (E)vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
3 The Lord is (F)slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In (G)whirlwind and storm is His way,
And (H)clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He (I)rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
He dries up all the rivers.
(J)Bashan and Carmel wither;
The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
5 Mountains (K)quake because of Him
And the hills (L)dissolve;
Indeed the earth is (M)upheaved by His presence,
The (N)world and all the inhabitants in it.
6 (O)Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the (P)burning of His anger?
His (Q)wrath is poured out like fire
And the (R)rocks are broken up by Him.
7 The Lord is (S)good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And (T)He knows those who take refuge in Him.
8 But with an (U)overflowing flood
He will make a complete end of [c]its site,
And will pursue His enemies into (V)darkness.
9 Whatever you (W)devise against the Lord,
He will make a (X)complete end of it.
Distress will not rise up twice.
10 Like tangled (Y)thorns,
And like those who are (Z)drunken with their drink,
They are (AA)consumed
As stubble completely withered.
11 From you has gone forth
One who (AB)plotted evil against the Lord,
A [d](AC)wicked counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and likewise many,
Even so, they will be (AD)cut off and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you (AE)no longer.
13 “So now, I will (AF)break his yoke bar from upon you,
And I will tear off your shackles.”
14 The Lord has issued a command concerning [e]you:
“[f]Your name will (AG)no longer be perpetuated.
I will cut off [g](AH)idol and [h]image
From the house of your gods.
I will prepare your (AI)grave,
For you are contemptible.”
15 [i]Behold, (AJ)on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace!
(AK)Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;
Pay your vows.
For (AL)never again will the [j]wicked one pass through you;
He is (AM)cut off completely.
The Overthrow of Nineveh
2 [k]The one who (AN)scatters has come up against [l]you.
Man the fortress, watch the road;
[m]Strengthen your back, [n]summon all your strength.
2 For the Lord will restore the (AO)splendor of Jacob
(AP)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though devastators have devastated them
And (AQ)destroyed their vine branches.
3 The shields of [o]his mighty men are colored red,
The warriors are dressed in (AR)scarlet,
The chariots are enveloped in [p]flashing steel
[q]When he is prepared to march,
And the cypress (AS)spears are brandished.
4 The (AT)chariots race madly in the streets,
They rush wildly in the [r]squares,
Their appearance is like torches,
They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his (AU)nobles;
They (AV)stumble in their march,
They hurry to her wall,
And the [s]mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace is dissolved.
7 It is fixed:
She is stripped, she is carried away,
And her handmaids are (AW)moaning like the sound of doves,
(AX)Beating on their [t]breasts.
8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Now they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But (AY)no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the (AZ)gold!
For there is no limit to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (BA)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
(BB)Hearts are melting and knees knocking!
Also anguish is in [u]the whole body
And all their (BC)faces are grown pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the (BD)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness and lion’s cub prowled,
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
[v]Killed enough for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.
13 “Behold, (BE)I am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts. “I will (BF)burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will (BG)cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”
Nineveh’s Complete Ruin
3 (BH)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey never departs.
2 The (BI)noise of the whip,
The noise of the rattling of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [w]bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, (BJ)spears gleaming,
(BK)Many slain, a mass of corpses,
And [x](BL)countless dead bodies—
They stumble over [y]the dead bodies!
4 All because of the (BM)many harlotries of the harlot,
The charming one, the (BN)mistress of sorceries,
Who (BO)sells nations by her harlotries
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, (BP)I am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts;
“And I will [z](BQ)lift up your skirts over your face,
And (BR)show to the nations your nakedness
And to the kingdoms your disgrace.
6 “I will (BS)throw [aa]filth on you
And (BT)make you vile,
And set you up as a (BU)spectacle.
7 “And it will come about that all who see you
Will [ab]shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(BV)Who will grieve for her?’
Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than [ac](BW)No-amon,
Which was situated by the (BX)waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [ad]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [ae]the sea?
9 (BY)Ethiopia was her might,
And Egypt too, without limits.
(BZ)Put and (CA)Lubim were among [af]her helpers.
10 Yet she (CB)became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her (CC)small children were dashed to pieces
(CD)At the head of every street;
They (CE)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with fetters.
11 You too will become (CF)drunk,
You will be (CG)hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (CH)fig trees with [ag](CI)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (CJ)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (CK)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (CL)Draw for yourself water for the siege!
(CM)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There (CN)fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will (CO)consume you as the locust does.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
16 You have increased your (CP)traders more than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust [ah]strips and flies away.
17 Your [ai](CQ)guardsmen are like the swarming locust.
Your (CR)marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers
Settling in the stone walls on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (CS)sleeping, O (CT)king of Assyria;
Your (CU)nobles are lying down.
Your people are (CV)scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to regather them.
19 There is (CW)no relief for your breakdown,
Your (CX)wound is incurable.
All who hear [aj]about you
Will (CY)clap their hands over you,
For on whom has not your evil passed continually?
Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1 The [a](A)oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 (B)How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do (C)not save.
3 Why do You make me (D)see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, (E)destruction and violence are before me;
(F)Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the (G)law is [b]ignored
And justice [c]is never upheld.
For the wicked (H)surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out (I)perverted.
5 “(J)Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! (K)Wonder!
Because I am doing (L)something in your days—
You would not believe if [d]you were told.
6 “For behold, I am (M)raising up the Chaldeans,
That [e]fierce and impetuous people
Who march [f]throughout the earth
To [g](N)seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and (O)feared;
Their (P)justice and [h]authority [i]originate with themselves.
8 “Their (Q)horses are swifter than leopards
And [j]keener than (R)wolves in the evening.
Their [k]horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an (S)eagle swooping down to devour.
9 “All of them come for violence.
[l]Their horde of (T)faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10 “They (U)mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They (V)laugh at every fortress
And (W)heap up rubble to capture it.
11 “Then they will sweep through like the (X)wind and pass on.
But they will be held (Y)guilty,
They whose (Z)strength is their god.”
12 Are You not from (AA)everlasting,
O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, O Lord, have (AB)appointed them to judge;
And You, O (AC)Rock, have established them to correct.
13 Your eyes are too (AD)pure to [m]approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You (AE)look with favor
On those who deal (AF)treacherously?
Why are You (AG)silent when the wicked (AH)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans (AI)bring all of them up with a hook,
(AJ)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [n]burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through (AK)these things their [o]catch is [p]large,
And their food is [q]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their (AL)net
And continually (AM)slay nations without sparing?
God Answers the Prophet
2 I will (AN)stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will (AO)keep watch to see (AP)what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply [r]when I am reproved.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“(AQ)Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That [s]the one who [t]reads it may run.
3 “For the vision is yet for the (AR)appointed time;
It [u]hastens toward the goal and it will not [v]fail.
Though it tarries, (AS)wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it (AT)will not delay.
4 “Behold, as for the (AU)proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the (AV)righteous will live by his [w]faith.
5 “Furthermore, (AW)wine betrays the (AX)haughty man,
So that he does not (AY)stay at home.
He (AZ)enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all nations
And collects to himself all peoples.
6 “Will not all of these (BA)take up a taunt-song against him,
Even mockery and insinuations against him
And say, ‘(BB)Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself [x]rich with loans?’
7 “Will not [y]your creditors (BC)rise up suddenly,
And those who [z]collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
8 “Because you have (BD)looted many nations,
All the remainder of the peoples will loot you—
Because of human bloodshed and violence [aa]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
9 “Woe to him who gets (BE)evil gain for his house
To (BF)put his nest on high,
To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
10 “You have devised a (BG)shameful thing for your house
By cutting off many peoples;
So you are (BH)sinning against yourself.
11 “Surely the (BI)stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the [ab]framework.
12 “Woe to him who (BJ)builds a city with bloodshed
And founds a town with [ac]violence!
13 “Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts
That peoples (BK)toil for fire,
And nations grow weary for nothing?
14 “For the earth will be (BL)filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to you who make [ad]your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!
16 “You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
Now you yourself (BM)drink and [ae]expose your own nakedness.
The (BN)cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you,
And (BO)utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 “For the (BP)violence [af]done to Lebanon will [ag]overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its beasts [ah]by which you terrified them,
(BQ)Because of human bloodshed and (BR)violence [ai]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
18 “What (BS)profit is the [aj]idol when its maker has carved it,
Or [ak]an image, a (BT)teacher of falsehood?
For its maker (BU)trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 “Woe to him who (BV)says to a piece of wood, ‘(BW)Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with (BX)gold and silver,
And there is (BY)no breath at all inside it.
20 “But the (BZ)Lord is in His holy temple.
[al]Let all the earth (CA)be silent before Him.”
God’s Deliverance of His People
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to [am]Shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have (CB)heard [an]the report about You and [ao]I (CC)fear.
O Lord, (CD)revive (CE)Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember [ap](CF)mercy.
3 God comes from (CG)Teman,
And the Holy One from Mount (CH)Paran. Selah.
His (CI)splendor covers the heavens,
And the (CJ)earth is full of His praise.
4 His (CK)radiance is like the sunlight;
He has rays flashing from His hand,
And there is the hiding of His (CL)power.
5 Before Him goes (CM)pestilence,
And (CN)plague comes [aq]after Him.
6 He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and (CO)startled the nations.
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills [ar]collapsed.
His ways are (CP)everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan under (CQ)distress,
The tent curtains of the land of (CR)Midian were trembling.
8 Did the Lord rage against the (CS)rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your wrath against the (CT)sea,
That You (CU)rode on Your horses,
On Your (CV)chariots of salvation?
9 Your (CW)bow was made bare,
The rods of [as]chastisement were sworn. Selah.
You (CX)cleaved the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and quaked;
The downpour of waters swept by.
The deep (CY)uttered forth its voice,
It lifted high its hands.
11 (CZ)Sun and moon stood in their places;
They went away at the (DA)light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
12 In indignation You (DB)marched through the earth;
In anger You [at](DC)trampled the nations.
13 You went forth for the (DD)salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your (DE)anointed.
You struck the (DF)head of the house of the evil
To lay him open from [au]thigh to neck. Selah.
14 You pierced with his (DG)own [av]spears
The head of his [aw]throngs.
They (DH)stormed in to scatter [ax]us;
Their exultation was like those
Who (DI)devour the oppressed in secret.
15 You (DJ)trampled on the sea with Your horses,
On the (DK)surge of many waters.
16 I heard and my [ay]inward parts (DL)trembled,
At the sound my lips quivered.
Decay enters my (DM)bones,
And in my place I tremble.
Because I must (DN)wait quietly for the day of distress,
[az]For the (DO)people to arise who will invade us.
17 Though the (DP)fig tree should not blossom
And there be no [ba]fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the (DQ)olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the (DR)flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be (DS)no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will (DT)exult in the Lord,
I will (DU)rejoice in the (DV)God of my salvation.
19 The Lord [bb]God is my (DW)strength,
And (DX)He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my (DY)high places.
For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
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