2:1 I will stand at my watch post;
I will remain stationed on the city wall. 1
I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me
and can know 2 how I should answer
when he counters my argument. 3
2:2 The Lord responded: 4
“Write down this message! 5 Record it legibly on tablets,
so the one who announces 6 it may read it easily. 7
2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; 8
it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. 9
Even if the message 10 is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; 11
for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.
2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, 12
but the person of integrity 13 will live 14 because of his faithfulness. 15
2:5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! 16
His appetite 17 is as big as Sheol’s; 18
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers 19 all the nations;
he seizes 20 all peoples.
2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him 21
and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: 22
‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead 23
(How long will this go on?) 24 –
he who gets rich by extortion!’ 25
2:7 Your creditors will suddenly attack; 26
those who terrify you will spring into action, 27
and they will rob you. 28
2:8 Because you robbed many countries, 29
all who are left among the nations 30 will rob you.
You have shed human blood
and committed violent acts against lands, cities, 31 and those who live in them.
2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. 32
He does this so he can build his nest way up high
and escape the clutches of disaster. 33
2:10 Your schemes will bring shame to your house.
Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct. 34
1 sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.
2 tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”
4 tn Heb “the
5 tn Heb “[the] vision.”
6 tn Or “reads from.”
7 tn Heb “might run,” which here probably means “run [through it quickly with one’s eyes],” that is, read it easily.
8 tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.
9 tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.
10 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”
12 tn The meaning of this line is unclear, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding the second word, עֲפְּלָה (’apÿlah). Some read this as an otherwise unattested verb עָפַל (’afal, “swell”) from which are derived nouns meaning “mound” and “hemorrhoid.” This “swelling” is then understood in an abstract sense, “swell with pride.” This would yield a translation, “As for the proud, his desires are not right within him” (cf. NASB “as for the proud one”; NIV “he is puffed up”; NRSV “Look at the proud!”). A multitude of other interpretations of this line, many of which involve emendations of the problematic form, may be found in the commentaries and periodical literature. The present translation assumes an emendation to a Pual form of the verb עָלַף (’alaf, “be faint, exhausted”). (See its use in the Pual in Isa 51:20, and in the Hitpael in Amos 8:13 and Jonah 4:8.) In the antithetical parallelism of the verse, it corresponds to חָיָה (khayah, “live”). The phrase לֹא יָשְׁרָה נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹ (lo’ yoshrah nafsho bo), literally, “not upright his desire within him,” is taken as a substantival clause that contrasts with צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “the righteous one”) and serves as the subject of the preceding verb. Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in the sense of “desire” (see BDB 660-61 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ for a list of passages where the word carries this sense).
13 tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.
14 tn Or “will be preserved.” In the immediate context this probably refers to physical preservation through both the present oppression and the coming judgment (see Hab 3:16-19).
15 tn Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (’emunah) has traditionally been translated “faith,” but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness.” The antecedent of the suffix has been understood in different ways. It could refer to God’s faithfulness, but in this case one would expect a first person suffix (the original form of the LXX has “my faithfulness” here). Others understand the “vision” to be the antecedent. In this case the reliability of the prophecy is in view. For a statement of this view, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 111-12. The present translation assumes that the preceding word “[the person of] integrity” is the antecedent. In this case the
16 tn Heb “Indeed wine betrays a proud man and he does not dwell.” The meaning of the last verb, “dwell,” is uncertain. Many take it as a denominative of the noun נָוָה (navah, “dwelling place”). In this case it would carry the idea, “he does not settle down,” and would picture the drunkard as restless (cf. NIV “never at rest”; NASB “does not stay at home”). Some relate the verb to an Arabic cognate and translate the phrase as “he will not succeed, reach his goal.”
17 tn Heb “who opens wide like Sheol his throat.” Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in a physical sense, meaning “throat,” which in turn is figurative for the appetite. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 11-12.
18 sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead. In ancient Canaanite thought Death was a powerful god whose appetite was never satisfied. In the OT Sheol/Death, though not deified, is personified as greedy and as having a voracious appetite. See Prov 30:15-16; Isa 5:14; also see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 168.
19 tn Heb “he gathers for himself.”
20 tn Heb “he collects for himself.”
21 tn Heb “Will not these, all of them, take up a taunt against him…?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.
22 tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”
23 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who increases [what is] not his.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe,” “ah”) was used in funeral laments and carries the connotation of death.
24 tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.
25 tn Heb “and the one who makes himself heavy [i.e., wealthy] [by] debts.” Though only appearing in the first line, the term הוֹי (hoy) is to be understood as elliptical in the second line.
26 tn Heb “Will not your creditors suddenly rise up?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.
27 tn Heb “[Will not] the ones who make you tremble awake?”
28 tn Heb “and you will become their plunder.”
29 tn Or “nations.”
30 tn Or “peoples.”
31 tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.
32 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.
33 tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”
34 tn Heb “you planned shame for your house, cutting off many nations, and sinning [against] your life.”