Habakkuk 2

1I will atake my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and blook out to see cwhat he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith

2And the Lord answered me:

dWrite the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3For still ethe vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, fwait for it;
git will surely come; it will not delay.
4 Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but hthe righteous shall live by his faith.
Or faithfulness

5 Moreover, wine
Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
is ka traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.
The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain

His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death mhe has never enough.
nHe gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”

Woe to the Chaldeans

6Shall not all these otake up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,

pWoe to him qwho heaps up what is not his own—
for rhow long?—
and sloads himself with pledges!”
7 tWill not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 uBecause you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
vfor the blood of man and wviolence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 xWoe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
yto zset his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10You have devised shame for your house
aaby cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11For abthe stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 acWoe to him adwho builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that aepeoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 afFor the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of agthe glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 ahWoe to him aiwho makes his neighbors drink
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze ajat their nakedness!
16You will have your fill akof shame instead of glory.
alDrink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
amThe cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and anutter shame will come upon your glory!
17 aoThe violence apdone to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
aqfor the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 arWhat profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, asa teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes atspeechless idols!
19 auWoe to him avwho says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and awthere is no breath at all in it.
20But axthe Lord is in his holy temple;
aylet all the earth keep silence before him.”
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