11 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save. 3 Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
5 See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for [I] work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared [to you]. 6 For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. 9 They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand. 10 Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. 11 Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his +god.
12 —Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction. 13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he? 14 And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them. 15 He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad: 16 therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty. 17 Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?
21 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer as to my reproof. 2 And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and engrave it upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but it hasteth to the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; for it will surely come, it will not delay. 4 Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5 And moreover, the wine is treacherous: he is a proud man, and keepeth not at rest, he enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is like death and cannot be satisfied; and he assembleth unto him all nations, and gathereth unto him all peoples.
6 Shall not all these take up a proverb about him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long?—and to him that loadeth himself with pledges! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and they awake up that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8 Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the rest of the peoples shall plunder thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence [done] to the land, to the city, and all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him that getteth iniquitous gain to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the grasp of evil! 10 Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thine own soul. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by unrighteousness! 13 Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea.
15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,—that pourest out thy flask, and makest [him] drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16 Thou art filled with shame instead of glory; drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of Jehovah's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and a shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 17 For the violence [done] to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of beasts which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence [done] to the land, to the city, and all that dwell therein. 18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it? the molten image, and the teacher of falsehood, that the maker of his work dependeth thereon, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake! to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall it teach? Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20 But Jehovah is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him!
31 A Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2 Jehovah, I heard the report of thee, [and] I feared. Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make [it] known: In wrath remember mercy!
3 +God came from Teman, And the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is full of his praise. 4 And [his] brightness was as the light; Rays [came forth] from his hand; And there was the hiding of his power. 5 Before him went the pestilence, And a burning flame went forth at his feet. 6 He stood, and measured the earth; He beheld, and discomfited the nations; And the eternal mountains were scattered, The everlasting hills gave way: His ways are everlasting. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 8 Was Jehovah wrathful with the rivers? Was thine anger against the rivers? Was thy rage against the sea, That thou didst ride upon thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation? 9 Thy bow was made naked, The rods [of discipline] sworn according to [thy] word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 10 The mountains saw thee, they were in travail: Torrents of waters passed by; The deep uttered its voice, Lifted up its hands on high. 11 The sun [and] moon stood still in their habitation, At the light of thine arrows which shot forth,—At the shining of thy glittering spear. 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, Thou didst thresh the nations in anger. 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed; Thou didst smite off the head from the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation even to the neck. Selah. 14 Thou didst strike through with his own spears the head of his leaders: They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me, Whose exulting was as to devour the afflicted secretly. 15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thy horses, The heap of great waters.
16 I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people. 17 For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive-tree shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength, And he maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And he will make me to walk upon my high places. To the chief Musician. On my stringed instruments.
11 The word of Jehovah that came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly take away everything from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah: 3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah. 4 And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests; 5 and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by [him], and swear by Malcham; 6 and them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.
7 Be silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath hallowed his guests. 8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit. 10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second [quarter], and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil. 13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.
14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness, 16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high battlements. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung: 18 their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them, in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for a full end, yea, a sudden [end], shall he make of all them that dwell in the land.
21 Collect yourselves and gather together, O nation without shame, 2 before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass away as chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you. 3 Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.
4 For Gazah shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon shall be a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant; 6 and the sea-coast shall be cave-dwellings for shepherds, and folds for flocks. 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for Jehovah their God shall visit them, and turn again their captivity.
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 9 Therefore, [as] I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall certainly be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt-pits, and a perpetual desolation; the remnant of my people shall spoil them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them. 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts. 11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and all the isles of the nations shall worship him, every one from his place.
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be the slain of my sword. 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, a place of drought like the wilderness. 14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the crowd of beasts; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the chapiters thereof; a voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be on the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar work. 15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave his hand.
31 Woe to her that is rebellious and corrupted, to the oppressing city! 2 She hearkened not to the voice; she received not correction; she confided not in Jehovah; she drew not near her God. 3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, that leave nothing for the morning. 4 Her prophets are vain-glorious, treacherous persons; her priests profane the sanctuary, they do violence to the law. 5 The righteous Jehovah is in the midst of her: he doeth no wrong. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light; it faileth not: but the unrighteous knoweth no shame. 6 I have cut off nations: their battlements are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. 7 I said, Only fear me, receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, howsoever I may punish her. But they rose early, they corrupted all their doings.
8 Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to assemble the nations, that I may gather the kingdoms together, to pour upon them mine indignation,—all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine oblation. 11 In that day thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that exult in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. 12 And I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of Jehovah. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not work unrighteousness, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: but they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
14 Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; rejoice and be glad with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem: 15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy; the King of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; Zion, let not thy hands be slack. 17 Jehovah thy God is in thy midst, a mighty one that will save: he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will exult over thee with singing. 18 I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assemblies, who were of thee: the reproach of it was a burden [unto them]. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save her that halted, and gather her that was driven out; and I will make them a praise and a name in all the lands where they have been put to shame. 20 At that time will I bring you, yea, at the time that I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I shall turn again your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.
