Hab 2:2-20 | ESV | STEP | And the Lord answered me: Write the vision ; make it plain on tablets , so he may run who reads it.

2 And the Lord answered me:

^a“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still ^bthe vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, ^cwait for it;
^dit will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but ^ethe righteous shall live by his faith. ^{▼▼Or faithfulness}
5 “Moreover, wine ^{▼▼Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth} is ^ha 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 ^jhe has never enough.
^kHe gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”

Woe to the Chaldeans

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

^m“Woe to him ⁿwho heaps up what is not his own—
for ^ohow long?—
and ^ploads himself with pledges!”
7 ^qWill not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 ^rBecause you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
^sfor the blood of man and ^tviolence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 ^u“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
^vto ^wset his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
^xby cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For ^ythe stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 ^z“Woe to him ^aawho builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that ^abpeoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 ^acFor the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of ^adthe glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 ^ae“Woe to him ^afwho makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze ^agat their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill ^ahof shame instead of glory.
^aiDrink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
^ajThe cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and ^akutter shame will come upon your glory!
17 ^alThe violence ^amdone to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
^anfor the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 ^ao“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, ^apa teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes ^aqspeechless idols!
19 ^arWoe to him ^aswho says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and ^atthere is no breath at all in it.
20 But ^authe Lord is in his holy temple;
^avlet all the earth keep silence before him.”