Hab 2 | NASB2020 | STEP | I will stand at my guard post And station myself on the watchtower ; And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, And how I may reply when I am reprimanded .

Habakkuk 2

God Answers the Prophet

1 I will ^astand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will ^bkeep watch to see ^cwhat He will say to me,
And how I may reply ^{▼▼Lit upon my reprimand}when I am reprimanded.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“ ^eWrite down the vision
And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that one who ^{▼▼Or is to proclaim; or reads it may read it fluently}reads it may run.
3 “For the vision is yet for the ^gappointed time;
It ^{▼▼Lit pants}hurries toward the goal and it will not ^{▼▼Or lie}fail.
Though it delays, ^jwait for it;
For it will certainly come, it ^kwill not delay long.

4 “Behold, as for the ^limpudent one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the ^mrighteous one will live by his ^{▼▼Or faithfulness}faith.
5 “Furthermore, ^owine betrays an ^parrogant man,
So that he does not ^qachieve his objective.
He ^renlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all the nations
And collects to himself all the peoples.

6 “Will all of these not ^stake up a song of ridicule against him,
Even a saying and insinuations against him
And say, ‘ ^tWoe to him who increases what is not his--
For how long--
And makes himself ^{▼▼Lit heavy}rich with debts!’
7 “Will ^{▼▼Lit those who bite you}your creditors not ^wrise up suddenly,
And those who ^{▼▼Lit violently shake you}collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
8 “Since you have ^ylooted many nations,
All the rest of the peoples will loot you--
Because of human bloodshed and violence ^{▼▼Lit of the land}done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.

9 “Woe to him who makes ^aaevil profit for his household,
To ^abput his nest on high,
To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!
10 “You have planned a ^acshameful thing for your house
By bringing many peoples to an end;
So you are ^adsinning against yourself.
11 “For the ^aestone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the ^{▼▼Lit wood}framework.

12 “Woe to him who ^agbuilds a city with bloodshed,
And founds a town with ^{▼▼Lit injustice}violence!
13 “Is it not indeed from the Lord of armies
That peoples ^ailabor merely for fire,
And nations become weary for nothing?
14 “For the earth will be ^ajfilled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.

15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink;
^{▼▼Another reading is From the cup of your venom}To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk,
So as to look at their genitalia!
16 “You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
^alDrink, you yourself, and ^{▼▼Lit show yourself uncircumcised; DSS and ancient versions stagger}expose your own foreskin!
The ^ancup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you,
And ^aoutter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 “For the ^apviolence ^{▼▼Lit of Lebanon}done to Lebanon will ^{▼▼Lit cover}overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its animals ^{▼▼Lit which shattered them}by which you terrified them,
^atBecause of human bloodshed and ^auviolence ^{▼▼Lit of the land}done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.

18 “What ^awbenefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
Or a cast metal image, a ^axteacher of falsehood?
For its maker ^aytrusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 “Woe to him who ^azsays to a piece of wood, ‘ ^baAwake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
That is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with ^bbgold and silver,
Yet there is ^bcno breath at all inside it.
20 “But the ^bdLord is in His holy temple.
^{▼▼Lit Hush before Him, all the earth}Let all the earth ^bfbe silent before Him.”