Habakkuk 2

2I will stand at my watchⁿ

and station myself on the ramparts;^o

I will look to see what he will say^p to me,

and what answer I am to give to this complaint.^aq

The Lord’s Answer

²Then the Lord replied:

“Write^r down the revelation

and make it plain on tablets

so that a herald^b may run with it.

³For the revelation awaits an appointed time;^s

it speaks of the end^t

and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait^u for it;

it^c will certainly come

and will not delay.^v

⁴“See, the enemy is puffed up;

his desires are not upright—

but the righteous person^w will live by his faithfulness^dx—

⁵indeed, wine^y betrays him;

he is arrogant^z 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 captive^b all the peoples.

⁶“Will not all of them taunt^c 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?’

⁷Will not your creditors suddenly arise?

Will they not wake up and make you tremble?

Then you will become their prey.^e

⁸Because 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 nest^k on high

to escape the clutches of ruin!

¹⁰You have plotted the ruin^l of many peoples,

shaming^m your own house and forfeiting your life.

¹¹The 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 bloodshed^o

and establishes a town by injustice!

¹³Has not the Lord Almighty determined

that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,^p

that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?^q

¹⁴For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory^r of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.^s

¹⁵“Woe to him who gives drink^t to his neighbors,

pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,

so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!

¹⁶You will be filled with shame^u instead of glory.^v

Now it is your turn! Drink^w and let your nakedness be exposed^e!^x

The cup^y from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,

and disgrace will cover your glory.

¹⁷The violence^z you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,

and your destruction of animals will terrify you.^a

For you have shed human blood;^b

you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

¹⁸“Of what value^c is an idol^d carved by a craftsman?

Or an image^e that teaches lies?

For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;

he makes idols that cannot speak.^f

¹⁹Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’

Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’^g

Can it give guidance?

It is covered with gold and silver;^h

there is no breath in it.”ⁱ

²⁰The Lord is in his holy temple;^j

let all the earth be silent^k before him.