Habakkuk 2:11

2:11 For the stones in the walls will cry out,

and the wooden rafters will answer back. ¹ 

Habakkuk 2:2

The Lord Assures Habakkuk

2:2 The Lord responded: ² 

“Write down this message! ³  Record it legibly on tablets,

so the one who announces ⁴  it may read it easily. ⁵ 

[2:11]  ¹ sn The house mentioned in vv. 9-10 represents the Babylonian empire, which became great through imperialism. Here the materials of this “house” (the stones in the walls, the wooden rafters) are personified as witnesses who testify that the occupants have built the house through wealth stolen from others.

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “the Lord answered and said.” The redundant expression “answered and said” has been simplified in the translation as “responded.”

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “[the] vision.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Or “reads from.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “might run,” which here probably means “run [through it quickly with one’s eyes],” that is, read it easily.