Hab 2 | ESV | STEP | I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower , and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint .

1 I will ^atake my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and ^blook out to see ^cwhat he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith

2 And the Lord answered me:

^d“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still ^ethe vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, ^fwait for it;
^git will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but ^hthe righteous shall live by his faith. ^{▼▼Or faithfulness}
5 “Moreover, wine ^{▼▼Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth} is ^ka traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain}
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death ^mhe has never enough.
ⁿHe gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”

Woe to the Chaldeans

6 Shall not all these ^otake up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,

^p“Woe to him ^qwho heaps up what is not his own—
for ^rhow long?—
and ^sloads himself with pledges!”
7 ^tWill not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 ^uBecause you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
^vfor the blood of man and ^wviolence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 ^x“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
^yto ^zset his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
^aaby cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For ^abthe stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 ^ac“Woe to him ^adwho builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that ^aepeoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 ^afFor the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of ^agthe glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 ^ah“Woe to him ^aiwho makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze ^ajat their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill ^akof shame instead of glory.
^alDrink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
^amThe cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and ^anutter shame will come upon your glory!
17 ^aoThe violence ^apdone to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
^aqfor the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 ^ar“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, ^asa teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes ^atspeechless idols!
19 ^auWoe to him ^avwho says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and ^awthere is no breath at all in it.
20 But ^axthe Lord is in his holy temple;
^aylet all the earth keep silence before him.”