New Living Translation

New King James Version

I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the LORD says
and how hea will answer my complaint.

1

The Just Shall Live by Faith

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.

2

The LORD’s Second Reply

Then the LORD said to me,
“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

2

The Just Live by Faith

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

3

This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.

3

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

“Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.b

4

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

5

Wealthc is treacherous,
and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,d
and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
and swallowed many peoples.

5

Woe to the Wicked

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

6

“But soon their captives will taunt them.
They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
but how much longer can this go on?’

6

“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 [b]many pledges’?

7

Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
They will turn on you and take all you have,
while you stand trembling and helpless.

7

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

8

Because you have plundered many nations,
now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.

8

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

9

“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses
with money gained dishonestly!
You believe your wealth will buy security,
putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.

9

“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 [e]power of disaster!

10

But by the murders you committed,
you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.

10

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

11

The very stones in the walls cry out against you,
and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

11

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

12

“What sorrow awaits you who build cities
with money gained through murder and corruption!

12

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

13

Has not the LORD of Heaven’s Armies promised
that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?
They work so hard,
but all in vain!

13

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

14

For as the waters fill the sea,
the earth will be filled with an awareness
of the glory of the LORD.

14

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

15

“What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!
You force your cup on them
so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.

15

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

16

But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.
Come, drink and be exposed!e
Drink from the cup of the LORD’s judgment,
and all your glory will be turned to shame.

16

You are filled with shame instead of glory.
You also — drink!
And [i]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

You cut down the forests of Lebanon.
Now you will be cut down.
You destroyed the wild animals,
so now their terror will be yours.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.

17

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

“What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation —
a god that can’t even talk!

18

“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

What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
‘Rise up and teach us!’
Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
but they are lifeless inside.

19

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

But the LORD is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.”

20

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

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Habakkuk 2

Habakkuk 2