Old/New Testament
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]
The Final Plagues
15 Then[a] I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues[b] (they are final because in them God’s anger is completed).
2 Then[c] I saw something like a sea of glass[d] mixed with fire, and those who had conquered[e] the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing[f] by[g] the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.[h] 3 They[i] sang the song of Moses the servant[j] of God and the song of the Lamb:[k]
“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful![l]
Just[m] and true are your ways,
King over the nations![n]
4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and glorify[o] your name, because you alone are holy?[p]
All nations[q] will come and worship before you
for your righteous acts[r] have been revealed.”
5 After[s] these things I looked, and the temple (the tent[t] of the testimony)[u] was opened in heaven, 6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean bright linen, wearing wide golden belts[v] around their chests. 7 Then[w] one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath[x] of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and from his power. Thus[y] no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues from the seven angels were completed.
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