1Megyina mʼahwɛe na mawɛn.
Mɛbɔ nsra
na mahwɛ nea ɔbɛka akyerɛ me,
ne mʼanoyi a mede bɛma nkurobɔ yi.
Awurade Mmuae Foforo
2Afei, Awurade buae se,
“Kyerɛw adiyi yi wɔ ɔbopon so
ma mu nna hɔ pefee
na ama ɔkenkanfo ate ase.
3Adiyisɛm no retwɛn nkrabea bi;
ɛka awiei ho asɛm
na ɛbɛba mu.
Ɛwɔ mu sɛ ɛrekyɛ de, nanso twɛn,
ɛrenkyɛ, ɛbɛba mu.
4“Hwɛ, ɔtamfo no ama ne ho so;
nʼapɛde nteɛ,
nanso ɔtreneeni fi gyidi mu benya nkwa.
5Nokware, nsa yi no ma
wayɛ ahantan na onni ahotɔ.
Esiane sɛ ɔyɛ adifudepɛ sɛ ɔda
na ɔte sɛ owu a hwee mmee no nti
ɔfom aman no nyinaa
na ɔfa nnipa no nyinaa nnommum.
6“Nnommumfo yi nyinaa bedi ne ho fɛw aserew no aka se,
“ ‘Nnome nka nea ɔboaboa akorɔnne ano,
na ɔnam apoobɔ so nya ne ho!
Eyi nkɔ so nkosi da bɛn?’
7So wɔn a wode wɔn ka no rensɔre mpofirim ana?
Wɔbɛsɔre ama wo ho apopo,
na wobetwiw afa wo so.
8Esiane sɛ woafow aman bebree nti,
wɔn a wɔaka no bɛfow wo bi.
Efisɛ woahwie nnipa mogya agu;
woasɛe nsase, nkuropɔn ne wɔn a wɔtete mu.
9“Nnome nka nea ɔde akorɔnne kyekyere ne man,
a ɔyɛ ne berebuw wɔ sorɔnsorɔmmea,
sɛnea obeyi ne ho afi ɔsɛe mu.
10Woatu nnipa bebree sɛe ho agyina,
de agu wankasa fi anim ase, de wo nkwa atwa so.
11Abo a ɛhyehyɛ afi afasu mu no bɛteɛ mu,
na ebegyigye wɔ mpuran a wɔahyehyɛ no mu.
12“Nnome nka nea ɔnam mogyahwiegu so kyekyere kuropɔn
na ɔnam awudi so kyekyere kurow.
13Asafo Awurade ahyɛ sɛ,
nnipa no adwumayɛ bɛyɛ ogya a wɔhyew.
Aman no brɛ gu kwa. 14Na Awurade anuonyam ho nimdeɛ bɛhyɛ asase nyinaa ma,
sɛnea nsu hyɛ po ma no.
15“Due! Wo a woma wo mfɛfo nsa,
Wuhwie ma wɔnom kosi sɛ wɔbɛbow,
na afei woahwɛ wɔn adagyaw.
16Worennya anuonyam biara, wʼani bewu.
Afei adu wo so! Nom na wʼadagyaw mu nna hɔ.
Kuruwa a efi Awurade nsa nifa reba wo so,
na aniwu bɛkata wʼanuonyam so.
17Awurukasɛm a wode adi Lebanon no bɛmene wo,
ɔsɛe a wosɛe mmoa nso bɛbɔ wo hu.
Woaka nnipa mogya agu;
woasɛe nsase, nkuropɔn ne nnipa a wɔwɔ mu.
18“Mfaso bɛn na munya fi ahoni a nipa ayɛ mu?
Anaa nsɛsode a ɛkyerɛkyerɛ atoro?
Nea ɔyɛ ohoni no de ne ho to ɔno ankasa nsa ano adwuma so;
na ɔyɛ anyame a wontumi nkasa.
19Nnome nka nea ɔka kyerɛ dua se, ‘Nya nkwa!’
Anaa ɔka kyerɛ ɔbo a enni nkwa se, ‘Nyan!’
Ebetumi ama akwankyerɛ?
Wɔde sika kɔkɔɔ ne dwetɛ adura ho;
nanso ɔhome nni mu.”
20Nanso Awurade wɔ nʼasɔrefi kronkron mu.
Momma asase nyinaa nyɛ komm wɔ nʼanim.
1I will go up to the lookout tower.
I’ll station myself on the city wall.
I’ll wait to see how the Lord will reply to me.
Then I’ll try to figure out how his reply answers what I’ve complained about.
The Lord Replies to Habakkuk
2The Lord replies,
“Write down the message I am giving you.
Write it clearly on the tablets you use.
Then a messenger can read it
and run to announce it.
3The message I give you
waits for the time I have appointed.
It speaks about what is going to happen.
And all of it will come true.
It might take a while.
But wait for it.
You can be sure it will come.
It will happen when I want it to.
4“The Babylonians are very proud.
What they want is not good.
“But the person who is godly
will live by his faithfulness.
5“Wine makes the Babylonians do foolish things.
They are proud. They never rest.
Like the grave, they are always hungry for more.
Like death, they are never satisfied.
They gather all the nations to themselves.
They take all those people away as prisoners.
6“Won’t those people laugh at the Babylonians? Won’t they make fun of them? They will say to them,
“ ‘How terrible it will be for you
who pile up stolen goods!
You get rich by cheating others.
How long will this go on?’
7Those you owe money to will suddenly rise up.
They will wake up
and make you tremble with fear.
Then they will take away
everything you have.
8You have robbed many nations.
So the nations that are left will rob you.
You have spilled human blood.
You have destroyed lands and cities
and everyone in them.
9“How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They build their kingdom with money
that they gained by cheating others.
They have tried to make the kingdom
as secure as possible.
After all, they did not want to be destroyed.
10They have planned to wipe out many nations.
But they have brought shame on their own kingdom.
So they must pay with their own lives.
11The stones in the walls of their homes will cry out.
And the wooden beams will echo that cry.
12“How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They build cities by spilling the blood of others.
They establish towns by doing what is wrong.
13I am the Lord who rules over all.
Human effort is no better than wood that feeds a fire.
So the nations wear themselves out for nothing.
14The oceans are full of water.
In the same way, the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of my glory.
15“How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They give drinks to their neighbors.
They pour the drinks from wineskins
until their neighbors are drunk.
They want to look at their naked bodies.
16But the Babylonians will be filled
with shame instead of glory.
So now it is their turn to drink
and be stripped of their clothes.
The cup of anger in my powerful right hand
is going to punish them.
They will be covered with shame instead of glory.
17The harm they have done to Lebanon
will bring them down.
Because they have killed so many animals,
animals will terrify them.
They have spilled human blood.
They have destroyed lands and cities
and everyone in them.
18“If someone carves a statue of a god, what is it worth?
What value is there in a god
that teaches lies?
The one who trusts in this kind of god
worships his own creation.
He makes statues of gods that can’t speak.
19How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They say to a wooden god, ‘Come to life!’
They say to a stone god, ‘Wake up!’
Can those gods give advice?
They are covered with gold and silver.
They can’t even breathe.”
20The Lord is in his holy temple.
Let the whole earth be silent in front of him.
