2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; 1
it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. 2
Even if the message 3 is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; 4
for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.
2:1 I will stand at my watch post;
I will remain stationed on the city wall. 5
I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me
and can know 6 how I should answer
when he counters my argument. 7
1:6 Look, I am about to empower 8 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 9 and greedy 10 nation.
They sweep across the surface 11 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;
they decide for themselves what is right. 12
1 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.
2 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.
3 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 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.”
5 sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.
6 tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
7 tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”
8 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
9 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
10 tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.
11 tn Heb “the open spaces.”
12 tn Heb “from him his justice, even his lifting up, goes out.” In this context שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) probably has the nuance “authority.” See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 150.