Habakkuk 1:12–2:12
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?y
My God, my Holy One,z youc will never die.a
You, Lord, have appointedb them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,c have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pured to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.e
Why then do you toleratef the treacherous?g
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?h
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wickedi foe pulls all of them up with hooks,j
he catches them in his net,k
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incensel to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?m
2 I will stand at my watchn
and station myself on the ramparts;o
I will look to see what he will sayp to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.a q
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Writer down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a heraldb may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;s
it speaks of the endt
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, waitu for it;
itc will certainly come
and will not delay.v
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous personw will live by his faithfulnessd x—
5 indeed, winey betrays him;
he is arrogantz and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,a
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captiveb all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them tauntc him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“ ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!d
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.e
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.f
For you have shed human blood;g
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.h
9 “Woe to him who buildsi his house by unjust gain,j
setting his nestk on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruinl of many peoples,
shamingm your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stonesn of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshedo
and establishes a town by injustice!