Habakkuk 2:18

2:18 What good ¹  is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? ² 

What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? ³ 

Why would its creator place his trust in it ⁴ 

and make ⁵  such mute, worthless things?

Habakkuk 2:4

2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, ⁶ 

but the person of integrity ⁷  will live ⁸  because of his faithfulness. ⁹ 

Habakkuk 2:12

2:12 The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead ¹⁰  –

he who starts ¹¹  a town by unjust deeds.

Habakkuk 2:9

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹² 

He does this so he can build his nest way up high

and escape the clutches of disaster. ¹³ 

Habakkuk 2:15

2:15 “You who force your neighbor to drink wine ¹⁴  are as good as dead ¹⁵  –

you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, ¹⁶ 

so you can look at their genitals. ¹⁷ 

Habakkuk 2:6

The Proud Babylonians are as Good as Dead

2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹⁸ 

and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ¹⁹ 

‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ²⁰ 

(How long will this go on?) ²¹  –

he who gets rich by extortion!’ ²² 

Habakkuk 2:19

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ²³  –

he who says ²⁴  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’

Can it give reliable guidance? ²⁵ 

It is overlaid with gold and silver;

it has no life’s breath inside it.

[2:18]  ¹ tn Or “of what value.”

[2:18]  ² tn Heb “so that the one who forms it fashions it?” Here כִּי (ki) is taken as resultative after the rhetorical question. For other examples of this use, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[2:18]  ³ tn Heb “or a metal image, a teacher of lies.” The words “What good is” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line. “Teacher of lies” refers to the false oracles that the so-called god would deliver through a priest. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 126.

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that the one who forms his image trusts in it?” As earlier in the verse, כִּי (ki) is resultative.

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “to make.”

[2:4]  ⁶ 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).

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.

[2:4]  ⁸ 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).

[2:4]  ⁹ 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 Lord is assuring Habakkuk that those who are truly innocent will be preserved through the coming oppression and judgment by their godly lifestyle, for God ultimately rewards this type of conduct. In contrast to these innocent people, those with impure desires (epitomized by the greedy Babylonians; see v. 5) will not be able to withstand God’s judgment (v. 4a).

[2:12]  ¹¹ tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:12]  ¹² tn Or “establishes”; or “founds.”

[2:9]  ¹⁶ 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.

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”

[2:15]  ²¹ tn No direct object is present after “drink” in the Hebrew text. “Wine” is implied, however, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ²² tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:15]  ²³ tc Heb “pouring out your anger and also making drunk”; or “pouring out your anger and [by] rage making drunk.” The present translation assumes that the final khet (ח) on מְסַפֵּחַ (misapeakh, “pouring”) is dittographic and that the form should actually be read מִסַּף (missaf, “from a bowl”).

[2:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their nakedness,” a euphemism.

[2:6]  ²⁶ 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.

[2:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”

[2:6]  ²⁸ 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.

[2:6]  ²⁹ tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.

[2:6]  ³⁰ 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.

[2:19]  ³¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:19]  ³² tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

[2:19]  ³³ tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).