HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1202
H A BA KKU K 2
11
They sweep past like the wind
and are gone.
But they are deeply guilty,
for their own strength is their god.”
page 832
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.
4
— promises —
from God
“For as the waters fill the
sea, the earth will be filled
with an awareness of the
glory of the Lord.”
5
H A BA K KU K 2:14
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who
are eternal—
surely you do not plan to wipe us out?
O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these
Babylonians to correct us,
to punish us for our many sins.
13 But you are pure and cannot stand the
sight of evil.
Will you wink at their treachery?
Should you be silent while the wicked
swallow up people more righteous
than they?
14
15
16
17
Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
Are we only sea creatures that have
no leader?
Must we be strung up on their hooks
and caught in their nets while they
rejoice and celebrate?
Then they will worship their nets
and burn incense in front of them.
“These nets are the gods who have
made us rich!”
they will claim.
Will you let them get away with this
forever?
Will they succeed forever in their
heartless conquests?
2
I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the
Lord says
and how he* will answer my
complaint.
1
The LORD’s Second Reply
2 Then the Lord said to me,
3
“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct
message to others.
This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
“Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and their
lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their
faithfulness to God.*
Wealth* is treacherous,
and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the
grave,*
and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many
nations
and swallowed many peoples.
“But soon their captives will taunt them.
They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
but how much longer can this go on?’
Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
They will turn on you and take all
you have,
while you stand trembling and helpless.
Because you have plundered many nations,
now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the
countryside
and filled the towns with violence.
“What sorrow awaits you who build big
houses
with money gained dishonestly!
You believe your wealth will buy security,
putting your family’s nest beyond the
reach of danger.
But by the murders you committed,
you have shamed your name and
forfeited your lives.
The very stones in the walls cry out
against you,
and the beams in the ceilings echo the
complaint.
“What sorrow awaits you who build cities
with money gained through murder and
corruption!
Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
promised
that the wealth of nations will turn
to ashes?
They work so hard,
but all in vain!
2:1 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads I. 2:3b-4 Greek
version reads If the vision is delayed, wait patiently, / for it will
surely come and not delay. / 4I will take no pleasure in anyone
who turns away. / But the righteous person will live by my faith.
Compare Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:37-38. 2:5a As in Dead
Sea Scroll 1QpHab; other Hebrew manuscripts read Wine.
2:5b Hebrew as Sheol.