The prophecy(A) that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?(C)
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?(D)
Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate(E) wrongdoing?(F)
Destruction and violence(G) are before me;
    there is strife,(H) and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law(I) is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice(J) is perverted.(K)

The Lord’s Answer

“Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.(L)
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.(M)
I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](N)
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(O)
    to seize dwellings not their own.(P)
They are a feared and dreaded people;(Q)
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
Their horses are swifter(R) than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves(S) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
    their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
    they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners(T) like sand.
10 They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.(U)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps(V) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(W) and go on—
    guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(X)

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(Y)
    My God, my Holy One,(Z) you[c] will never die.(AA)
You, Lord, have appointed(AB) them to execute judgment;
    you, my Rock,(AC) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(AD) to look on evil;
    you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(AE)
Why then do you tolerate(AF) the treacherous?(AG)
    Why are you silent while the wicked
    swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(AH)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
    like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(AI) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(AJ)
    he catches them in his net,(AK)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
    and burns incense(AL) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
    and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
    destroying nations without mercy?(AM)

I will stand at my watch(AN)
    and station myself on the ramparts;(AO)
I will look to see what he will say(AP) to me,
    and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[d](AQ)

The Lord’s Answer

Then the Lord replied:

“Write(AR) down the revelation
    and make it plain on tablets
    so that a herald[e] may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;(AS)
    it speaks of the end(AT)
    and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait(AU) for it;
    it[f] will certainly come
    and will not delay.(AV)

“See, the enemy is puffed up;
    his desires are not upright—
    but the righteous person(AW) will live by his faithfulness[g](AX)
indeed, wine(AY) betrays him;
    he is arrogant(AZ) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
    and like death is never satisfied,(BA)
he gathers to himself all the nations
    and takes captive(BB) all the peoples.

“Will not all of them taunt(BC) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
    and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(BD)
    How long must this go on?’
Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
    Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
    Then you will become their prey.(BE)
Because you have plundered many nations,
    the peoples who are left will plunder you.(BF)
For you have shed human blood;(BG)
    you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(BH)

“Woe to him who builds(BI) his house by unjust gain,(BJ)
    setting his nest(BK) on high
    to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin(BL) of many peoples,
    shaming(BM) your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones(BN) of the wall will cry out,
    and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed(BO)
    and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
    that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,(BP)
    that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?(BQ)
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory(BR) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.(BS)

15 “Woe to him who gives drink(BT) to his neighbors,
    pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
    so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame(BU) instead of glory.(BV)
    Now it is your turn! Drink(BW) and let your nakedness be exposed[h]!(BX)
The cup(BY) from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
    and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence(BZ) you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
    and your destruction of animals will terrify you.(CA)
For you have shed human blood;(CB)
    you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

18 “Of what value(CC) is an idol(CD) carved by a craftsman?
    Or an image(CE) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
    he makes idols that cannot speak.(CF)
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
    Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’(CG)
Can it give guidance?
    It is covered with gold and silver;(CH)
    there is no breath in it.”(CI)

20 The Lord is in his holy temple;(CJ)
    let all the earth be silent(CK) before him.

Habakkuk’s Prayer

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.[i](CL)

Lord, I have heard(CM) of your fame;
    I stand in awe(CN) of your deeds, Lord.(CO)
Repeat(CP) them in our day,
    in our time make them known;
    in wrath remember mercy.(CQ)

God came from Teman,(CR)
    the Holy One(CS) from Mount Paran.[j](CT)
His glory covered the heavens(CU)
    and his praise filled the earth.(CV)
His splendor was like the sunrise;(CW)
    rays flashed from his hand,
    where his power(CX) was hidden.
Plague(CY) went before him;
    pestilence followed his steps.
He stood, and shook the earth;
    he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled(CZ)
    and the age-old hills(DA) collapsed(DB)
    but he marches on forever.(DC)
I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
    the dwellings of Midian(DD) in anguish.(DE)

Were you angry with the rivers,(DF) Lord?
    Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea(DG)
    when you rode your horses
    and your chariots to victory?(DH)
You uncovered your bow,
    you called for many arrows.(DI)
You split the earth with rivers;
10     the mountains saw you and writhed.(DJ)
Torrents of water swept by;
    the deep roared(DK)
    and lifted its waves(DL) on high.

11 Sun and moon stood still(DM) in the heavens
    at the glint of your flying arrows,(DN)
    at the lightning(DO) of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
    and in anger you threshed(DP) the nations.
13 You came out(DQ) to deliver(DR) your people,
    to save your anointed(DS) one.
You crushed(DT) the leader of the land of wickedness,
    you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
    when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,(DU)
gloating as though about to devour
    the wretched(DV) who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea(DW) with your horses,
    churning the great waters.(DX)

16 I heard and my heart pounded,
    my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
    and my legs trembled.(DY)
Yet I will wait patiently(DZ) for the day of calamity
    to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,(EA)
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,(EB)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,(EC)
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.(ED)

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;(EE)
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.(EF)

For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
  2. Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we
  4. Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
  5. Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
  6. Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
  7. Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith
  8. Habakkuk 2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagger
  9. Habakkuk 3:1 Probably a literary or musical term
  10. Habakkuk 3:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the middle of verse 9 and at the end of verse 13.

but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.(A)

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.(B) The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.(C) Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap,(D) in order to have a basis for accusing him.(E)

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone(F) at her.”(G) Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”(H) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”(I)


Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am(J) the light of the world.(K) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(L)

13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”(M)

14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.(N) But you have no idea where I come from(O) or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards;(P) I pass judgment on no one.(Q) 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.(R) 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(S) 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”(T)

19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,”(U) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”(V) 20 He spoke these words while teaching(W) in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put.(X) Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.(Y)

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die(Z) in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”(AA)

22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.(AB) 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he,(AC) you will indeed die in your sins.”

25 “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,(AD) and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”(AE)

27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man,(AF) then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.(AG) 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone,(AH) for I always do what pleases him.”(AI) 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.(AJ)

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,(AK) you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(AL)

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants(AM) and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.(AN) 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.(AO) 36 So if the Son sets you free,(AP) you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me,(AQ) because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence,(AR) and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[b](AS)

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,”(AT) said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me,(AU) a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.(AV) Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”(AW)

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”(AX)

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(AY) for I have come here from God.(AZ) I have not come on my own;(BA) God sent me.(BB) 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil,(BC) and you want to carry out your father’s desires.(BD) He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.(BE) 45 Yet because I tell the truth,(BF) you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.(BG) The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Jesus’ Claims About Himself

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan(BH) and demon-possessed?”(BI)

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself;(BJ) but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”(BK)

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!(BL) Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham?(BM) He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself,(BN) my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.(BO) 55 Though you do not know him,(BP) I know him.(BQ) If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.(BR) 56 Your father Abraham(BS) rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it(BT) and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born,(BU) I am!”(BV) 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him,(BW) but Jesus hid himself,(BX) slipping away from the temple grounds.

Footnotes

  1. John 8:28 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
  2. John 8:38 Or presence. Therefore do what you have heard from the Father.
  3. John 8:39 Some early manuscripts “If you are Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then

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