IT WILL CERTAINLY COME
Key verse: 3
NIV
2 I will stand at my watch(A)
and station myself on the ramparts;(B)
I will look to see what he will say(C) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a](D)
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write(E) down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;(F)
it speaks of the end(G)
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait(H) for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.(I)
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person(J) will live by his faithfulness[d](K)—
5 indeed, wine(L) betrays him;
he is arrogant(M) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,(N)
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive(O) all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt(P) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(Q)
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.(R)
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.(S)
For you have shed human blood;(T)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(U)
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
- Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith
Cross references
- Habakkuk 2:1 : S Isa 21:8
- Habakkuk 2:1 : S Ps 48:13
- Habakkuk 2:1 : Ps 85:8
- Habakkuk 2:1 : S Ps 5:3; S Eze 3:17
- Habakkuk 2:2 : S Isa 30:8; S Jer 36:2; S Eze 24:2; S Ro 4:24; Rev 1:19
- Habakkuk 2:3 : Da 11:27
- Habakkuk 2:3 : Da 8:17
- Habakkuk 2:3 : S Ps 27:14
- Habakkuk 2:3 : S Eze 12:25
- Habakkuk 2:4 : S Eze 18:9
- Habakkuk 2:4 : Ro 1:17*; Gal 3:11*; Heb 10:37-38*
- Habakkuk 2:5 : S Pr 20:1
- Habakkuk 2:5 : S Isa 2:11
- Habakkuk 2:5 : S Pr 27:20; S 30:15-16
- Habakkuk 2:5 : Hab 1:9
- Habakkuk 2:6 : S Isa 14:4
- Habakkuk 2:6 : Am 2:8
- Habakkuk 2:7 : S Pr 29:1
- Habakkuk 2:8 : Isa 33:1; Jer 50:17-18; S Ob 1:15; Zec 2:8-9
- Habakkuk 2:8 : ver 17
- Habakkuk 2:8 : S Eze 39:10
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
2 I will (A)take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and (B)look out to see (C)what 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 (E)the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (F)wait for it;
(G)it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but (H)the righteous shall live by his faith.[a]
5 “Moreover, wine[b] is (I)a traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.[c]
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death (J)he has never enough.
(K)He gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these (L)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
(M)“Woe to him (N)who heaps up what is not his own—
for (O)how long?—
and (P)loads himself with pledges!”
7 (Q)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 (R)Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
(S)for the blood of man and (T)violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
- Habakkuk 2:5 The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain
Cross references
- Habakkuk 2:1 : Isa. 21:8
- Habakkuk 2:1 : Jer. 6:17; Ezek. 33:2
- Habakkuk 2:1 : Ps. 85:8
- Habakkuk 2:2 : Isa. 8:1; 30:8; [Rev. 1:19]
- Habakkuk 2:3 : [Dan. 10:14]; See Ezek. 7:5-7
- Habakkuk 2:3 : Zeph. 3:8; See Isa. 8:17
- Habakkuk 2:3 : Cited Heb. 10:37; [2 Pet. 3:9]
- Habakkuk 2:4 : Cited Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38; [John 3:36]
- Habakkuk 2:5 : ch. 1:13; Isa. 21:2
- Habakkuk 2:5 : [Prov. 27:20]
- Habakkuk 2:5 : Jer. 27:7; [ch. 1:6; Dan. 2:37, 38]
- Habakkuk 2:6 : Mic. 2:4; See Num. 23:7
- Habakkuk 2:6 : ver. 19; Isa. 5:8
- Habakkuk 2:6 : [ch. 1:6]
- Habakkuk 2:6 : See Zech. 1:12
- Habakkuk 2:6 : [Ezek. 18:7]
- Habakkuk 2:7 : See Isa. 21:5-9
- Habakkuk 2:8 : [Isa. 33:1]
- Habakkuk 2:8 : ver. 17
- Habakkuk 2:8 : [Isa. 33:1]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. God’s revelation will certainly come (1-5)
Habakkuk was watching for God, and the Lord would not disappoint. He promised to reveal his glory in the matter of his judgment on sin. This world is captive to the power of sin and death. But God is eternal. His justice will come. He reveals himself to the righteous—those who trust in his faithfulness in a world where sin seems rampant.
2. You have destroyed (6-8)
The Lord pronounced judgment on the wicked. The first woe he pronounced was against those who sought to store up wealth in this world at the cost of the lives of God’s people, destroying lands and cities and everyone in them. Godless people are unrestrained in their love of self. They destroy others, but they invite God’s destruction upon themselves.
Prayer: Lord, this world is captive to sin. Help me to wait with hope for your glory to be revealed.
One Word: Though it linger, wait for it
