| 2:1 | I will stand at my watch post; I will remain stationed on the city wall.* I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me and can know* how I should answer when he counters my argument.* |
| 2:2 | The Lord responded:* “Write down this message!* Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces* it may read it easily.* |
| 2:3 | For the message is a witness to what is decreed;* it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out.* Even if the message* is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently;* for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late. |
| 2:4 | Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion,* but the person of integrity* will live* because of his faithfulness.* |
| 2:5 | Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man!* His appetite* is as big as Sheol’s;* like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers* all the nations; he seizes* all peoples. |
| 2:6 | “But all these nations will someday taunt him* and ridicule him with proverbial sayings:* ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead* (How long will this go on?)* – he who gets rich by extortion!’* |
| 2:7 | Your creditors will suddenly attack;* those who terrify you will spring into action,* and they will rob you.* |
| 2:8 | Because you robbed many countries,* all who are left among the nations* will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities,* and those who live in them. |
| 2:9 | The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead.* He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster.* |
| 2:10 | Your schemes will bring shame to your house. Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct.* |
| 2:11 | For the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer back.* |
| 2:12 | The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead* – he who starts* a town by unjust deeds. |
| 2:13 | Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.* |
| 2:14 | For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth just as the waters fill up the sea.* |
| 2:15 | “You who force your neighbor to drink wine* are as good as dead* – you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger,* so you can look at their genitals.* |
| 2:16 | But you will become drunk* with shame, not majesty.* Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin!* The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand* is coming to you, and disgrace will replace your majestic glory! |
| 2:17 | For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon;* terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there.* You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them. |
| 2:18 | What good* is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it?* What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles?* Why would its creator place his trust in it* and make* such mute, worthless things? |
| 2:19 | The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead* – he who says* to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance?* It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it. |
| 2:20 | But the Lord is in his majestic palace.* The whole earth is speechless in his presence!”* |
Habakkuk 2 - NET Bible [draft]
