1 I will take my stand and keep watch. I will take my place on the tower. And I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say, and how I should answer when He speaks strong words to me. The Lord’s Answer to Habakkuk

I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. The Just Live by Faith

2 T hen the Lord answered me and said, “Write down the special dream on stone so that one may read it in a hurry.

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.

3 F or it is not yet time for it to come true. The time is coming in a hurry, and it will come true. If you think it is slow in coming, wait for it. For it will happen for sure, and it will not wait.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

4 A s for the proud one, his soul is not right in him. But the one who is right and good will live by his faith. It Is Bad for the Wrong-Doers

“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Woe to the Wicked

5 “ Also, wine fools the proud man, so he does not stay at home. He is like the grave who always wants more. Like death, he never has enough. He gathers all nations for himself, and gathers all people for his own.

“Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples.

6 “ Will not all these people make fun of him and say, ‘It is bad for him who gathers what is not his and makes himself rich with other people’s money. How long will this go on?’

“Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?

7 W ill not those to whom you owe money rise up all at once? Will they not wake up and make you afraid? Then they will take what belongs to you.

Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty.

8 B ecause you have robbed many nations, the rest of them will rob you. For you have killed men. You have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it.

9 “ It is bad for him who builds his house by sinful ways, to put his nest in a high place to be safe from trouble!

“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!

10 Y ou have brought shame upon your house by destroying many nations. You are sinning against yourself.

You give shameful counsel to your house, Cutting off many peoples, And sin against your soul.

11 T he stone will cry out from the wall, and the roof will answer it from the wood.

For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the beam from the timbers will answer it.

12 “ It is bad for him who builds a city with blood, and builds a town with wrong-doing!

“Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, Who establishes a city by iniquity!

13 I s it not the will of the All-powerful Lord that people work for what will burn up and nations make themselves tired for nothing?

Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts That the peoples labor to feed the fire, And nations weary themselves in vain?

14 F or the earth will be filled with knowing of the Lord’s shining-greatness, as the waters cover the sea.

For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.

15 “ It is bad for him who makes his neighbors drink, mixing in his poison to make them drunk, so he can look on their shame!

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his nakedness!

16 Y ou will be filled with shame instead of honor. Now you yourself drink and let your own shame be seen. The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and your greatness will turn to shame.

You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also—drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the Lord ’s right hand will be turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory.

17 T he bad things you have done to Lebanon will come back to you. Because you have killed its animals, now they will make you afraid. This will happen because of all the killing you have done. You have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it.

18 “ Of what worth is a false god when a workman has made it? Of what worth is an object of worship, a teacher of lies? For the workman trusts in his own work when he makes these false gods that cannot speak.

“What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should trust in it, To make mute idols?

19 I t is bad for him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Wake up!’ or to a stone that cannot speak, ‘Get up!’ Can this teach you? See, it is covered with gold and silver. There is no breath in it.

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all.

20 B ut the Lord is in His holy house. Let all the earth be quiet before Him.”

“But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”