Habakkuk 2
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Habakkuk Waits for God’s Response
2 I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on the lookout tower.(A)
I will watch to see what he will say to me(B)
and what I should[a] reply about my complaint.
God’s Second Answer
2 The Lord answered me:
Write down this vision;(C)
clearly inscribe it on tablets
so that one may easily read it.[b]
3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time;(D)
it testifies about the end and will not lie.
Though it delays, wait for it,
since it will certainly come and not be late.(E)
4 Look, his ego is inflated;[c]
he is without integrity.
But the righteous one will live by his faith.[d](F)
5 Moreover, wine[e] betrays;
an arrogant man is never at rest.[f]
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
and like Death he is never satisfied.(G)
He gathers all the nations to himself;(H)
he collects all the peoples for himself.
The Five Woe Oracles
6 Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him,(I)
with mockery and riddles about him?
They will say,
‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his –
how much longer?(J) –
and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.’(K)
7 Won’t your creditors suddenly arise,
and those who disturb you wake up?
Then you will become spoil for them.(L)
8 Since you have plundered many nations,(M)
all the peoples who remain will plunder you(N) –
because of human bloodshed
and violence(O) against lands, cities,
and all who live in them.(P)
9 Woe to him who dishonestly makes
wealth for his house[g](Q)
to place his nest on high,
to escape the grasp of disaster!(R)
10 You have planned shame for your house
by wiping out many peoples
and sinning against your own self.
11 For the stones will cry out(S) from the wall,
and the rafters will answer them
from the woodwork.
12 Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and founds a town with injustice!(T)
13 Is it not from the Lord of Armies
that the peoples labour only to fuel the fire
and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?(U)
14 For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory,
as the water covers the sea.(V)
15 Woe to him who gives his neighbours drink,
pouring out your wrath[h]
and even making them drunk,
in order to look at their nakedness!
16 You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory.
You also – drink,
and expose your uncircumcision![i]
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and utter disgrace will cover your glory.(W)
17 For your violence against Lebanon
will overwhelm you;
the destruction of animals will terrify you[j]
because of your human bloodshed and violence
against lands, cities, and all who live in them.
18 What use is a carved idol
after its craftsman carves it?
It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies.
For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it
and makes worthless idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up!
or to mute stone: Come alive!
Can it teach?
Look! It may be plated with gold and silver,
yet there is no breath(X) in it at all.
Habakkuk 2
Evangelical Heritage Version
2 I will stand at my watch post and station myself on the city wall. I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint.[a]
The Lord Responds
2 Then the Lord answered me. He said:
Record the vision and write it plainly on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
3 Indeed, the vision is waiting for the appointed time. It longs for fulfillment and will not prove false. If it seems slow in coming, wait for it, because it will certainly come and will not be delayed.
4 Look, his soul is puffed up and is not righteous within him[b]—but the righteous one will live by his faith.[c] 5 Indeed, wine[d] betrays that arrogant and restless one, because he is as greedy as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations and collects all the peoples to himself.
6 All these people will make up proverbs and mocking poems against him, won’t they? They will say, “Woe to the one who accumulates what is not his. (How long will this last?) Woe to the one who makes himself rich by foreclosing on collateral.” 7 Won’t your creditors rise up suddenly? Won’t those who cause you to tremble wake up? You will become plunder for them. 8 Because you robbed many countries, all those who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violence against the land, the cities, and all the people who live in them.
9 Woe to the person who piles up dishonest income for his household, in order to raise his nest up high, to deliver himself from disaster. 10 By wiping out many nations, you have planned shame for your own house. You have sinned against your own life. 11 So the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer, 12 “Woe to the one who builds a town with bloodshed and establishes a town with injustice.”
13 Be sure of this: The Lord of Armies has determined that the things for which the peoples of the world labor are only fuel for the fire, and that the nations tire themselves out with nothing to show for it. 14 So the earth will be as filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters that cover the sea.
15 Woe to the person who gives intoxicating drinks to his neighbors, forcing them to drink from his rage,[e] and making them drunk so that he can look at their nakedness. 16 You will be filled with shame instead of honor. Yes, you yourself will drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and complete disgrace will cover your glory.
17 You will be overwhelmed by the violence you have committed against Lebanon. Your devastation of the animals will terrify you,[f] because you shed human blood and did violence to the land, to the town, and to its inhabitants.
18 What benefit is provided by a carved idol? It was hewn by its maker. What good is a cast statue? It teaches lies. Why would the maker trust his own creation? He makes useless gods that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to a hunk of wood, “Wake up!” or who says, “Get up!” to a stone that cannot speak. Can that thing be your teacher? Although it is covered with gold and silver, there is no life in it at all.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let the whole earth be silent before him.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads what answer to give when I am rebuked, likely because scribes considered Habakkuk to be impudent by demanding an answer from the Lord. The alternate reading is also supported by the Syriac and the parallelism with the preceding line.
- Habakkuk 2:4 The antecedent of his and him is uncertain, and there are other difficulties with the Hebrew. The phrase must refer to an ungodly man—in the immediate context, to the Babylonians.
- Habakkuk 2:4 The word can also mean faithfulness, but in Romans 1:17 Paul uses the phrase in reference to faith.
- Habakkuk 2:5 Hebrew variant wealth
- Habakkuk 2:15 Or from your poison. The Hebrew has a second-person pronoun mixed in with the third-person references.
- Habakkuk 2:17 The Hebrew literally reads and the violence against the animals [which] he terrified. The translation above follows the Greek.
Copyright © 2024 by Holman Bible Publishers.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.