But you trample on the sea with your horses, on the surging, raging waters. ¹ 

You furiously stomp on the earth, you angrily trample down the nations.

The Lord responded: ¹  “Write down this message! ²  Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces ³  it may read it easily. ⁴ 

They sweep by like the wind and pass on. ¹  But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty.” ² 

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 

Your bow is ready for action; ¹  you commission your arrows. ²  Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. ³ 

He takes his battle position ¹  and shakes ²  the earth; with a mere look he frightens ³  the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrate; ⁴  the primeval hills are flattened. He travels on the ancient roads. ⁵ 

When ¹  the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce, ²  and the fields yield no crops; ³  when the sheep disappear ⁴  from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls,

“But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹  and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ²  ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ³  (How long will this go on?) ⁴  – he who gets rich by extortion!’ ⁵ 

The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹  He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster. ² 

“You who force your neighbor to drink wine ¹  are as good as dead ²  – you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, ³  so you can look at their genitals. ⁴ 

Will he then ¹  continue to fill and empty his throw net? ²  Will he always ³  destroy ⁴  nations and spare none? ⁵ 

You are too just ¹  to tolerate ²  evil; you are unable to condone ³  wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ⁴  Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ⁵  those more righteous than they are? ⁶ 

The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹  He gives me the agility of a deer; ²  he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ³  (This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ⁴ 

When the mountains see you, they shake. The torrential downpour sweeps through. ¹  The great deep ²  shouts out; it lifts its hands high. ³ 

This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet: ¹ 

The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead ¹  – he who starts ²  a town by unjust deeds.

Is the Lord mad at the rivers? Are you angry with the rivers? Are you enraged at the sea? ¹  Is this why ²  you climb into your horse-drawn chariots, ³  your victorious chariots? ⁴ 

All of them intend ¹  to do violence; every face is determined. ²  They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. ³ 

Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert ¹  than wolves in the desert. ²  Their horses ³  gallop, ⁴  their horses come a great distance; like a vulture ⁵  they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. ⁶