1I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.2.1 tower: Heb. fenced place2.1 unto me: or, in me2.1 when…: or, when I am argued with: Heb. upon my reproof, or, arguing 2And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5¶ Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:2.5 Yea…: or, How much more 6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!2.6 Woe…: or, Ho, he 7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.2.8 blood: Heb. bloods
9¶ Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!2.9 coveteth…: or, gaineth and evil gain2.9 power…: Heb. palm of the hand 10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.2.11 beam: or, piece, or, fastening2.11 answer it: or, witness against it
12¶ Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!2.12 blood: Heb. bloods 13Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?2.13 for…: or, in vain? 14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.2.14 with…: or, by knowing the glory
15¶ Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.2.16 with…: or, more with shame than with glory 17For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
18¶ What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?2.18 maker of…: Heb. fashioner of his fashion 19Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.2.20 let…: Heb. be silent all the earth before him
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.
