Hab 2-3 | ESV | STEP | I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower , and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint .

1 I 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

2 And the Lord answered me:

^d“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For 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

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

^p“Woe 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 ^x“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
^yto ^zset his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
^aaby cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For ^abthe stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 ^ac“Woe to him ^adwho builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, 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 ^ah“Woe to him ^aiwho makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze ^ajat their nakedness!
16 You 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 ^ar“What 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.
20 But ^axthe Lord is in his holy temple;
^aylet all the earth keep silence before him.”

Habakkuk 3

Habakkuk’s Prayer

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

2 O Lord, ^azI have heard the report of you,
and ^bayour work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years ^bbrevive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
^bcin wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from ^bdTeman,
^beand the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
4 ^bfHis brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5 ^bgBefore him went pestilence,
and plague followed ^bhat his heels. ^{▼▼Hebrew feet}
6 He stood ^bjand measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the ^bketernal mountains ^blwere scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were ^bmthe everlasting ways.
7 I saw the tents of ^bnCushan in affliction;
^bothe curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 ^bpWas your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
^bqor your indignation against the sea,
^brwhen you rode on your horses,
^bson your chariot of salvation?
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain} Selah
^buYou split the earth with rivers.
10 ^bvThe mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
^bwthe deep gave forth its voice;
^bxit lifted its hands on high.
11 ^byThe sun and moon stood still in their place
^bzat the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
12 ^caYou marched through the earth in fury;
^cbyou threshed the nations in anger.
13 ^ccYou went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of ^cdyour anointed.
^ceYou crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain} Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15 ^cgYou trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
16 ^chI hear, and ^cimy body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
^cjrottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet ^ckI will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 ^clyet I will rejoice in the Lord;
^cmI will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
^cnhe makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me ^cotread on my ^cphigh places.
^cqTo the choirmaster: with ^crstringed ^{▼▼Hebrew my stringed} instruments.