Habakkuk 2:9-19
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
9'Woe to him who makes evil profit for his household, To put his nest on high, To be saved from the hand of catastrophe! 10You have planned a shameful thing for your house By bringing many peoples to an end; So you are sinning against yourself. 11For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework. 12'Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, And founds a town with violence! 13Is it not indeed from the Lord of armies That peoples labor merely for fire, And nations become weary for nothing? 14For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea. 15'Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink; To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk, So as to look at their genitalia! 16You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Drink, you yourself, and expose your own foreskin! The cup in the Lord’S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory. 17For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, And the devastation of its animals by which you terrified them, Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants. 18'What benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it, Or a cast metal image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols. 19Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ That is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet there is no breath at all inside it.King James Version
Chapter 2
9Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
15Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
16Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.
17For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
18What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
19Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 2
9Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape the grasp of disaster! 10You have planned shame for your house by wiping out many peoples and sinning against your own self.
11For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will answer them from the woodwork.
12Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with injustice!
13Is it not from the Lord of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?
14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord's glory, as the water covers the sea.
15Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink, pouring out your wrath and even making them drunk, in order to look at their nakedness!
16You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory. You also--drink, and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory.
17For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you; the destruction of animals will terrify you because of your human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them.
18What use is a carved idol after its craftsman carves it? It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies. For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it and makes worthless idols that cannot speak.
New Living Translation
Chapter 2
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. 10But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives. 11The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
12'What sorrow awaits you who build cities with money gained through murder and corruption!
13Has 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!
14For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.
15'What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.
16But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced. Come, drink and be exposed! Drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment, and all your glory will be turned to shame.
17You 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.
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!
19What 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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
9“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! 10You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. 11For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond. 12“Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! 13Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? 14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 15“Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! 16You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! 17The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. 18“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! 19Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.New International Version
Chapter 2
9Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin! 10You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice!
13Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
15Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
17The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
New King James Version
