Habakkuk 2

I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

1I will stand at my watch post. I will take my place up on the wall. I will watch to see what God says to me. I will see what I should answer when he corrects me.

2And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

2Then the LORD answered me. He said, "Write down what I show you. Write it clearly on flat stones. Then a runner can read it and carry the news."

3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

3What I show you is for a time I have picked. It tells about the end. It does not lie. If it seems slow, keep waiting for it. It will surely come. It will not be late.

4Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

4Look at the proud man. Something inside him is not right. But the good person will live by trusting God.

5Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

5Wine leads him to do wrong. He is proud. He never stays home and rests. He wants more and more, like the grave that swallows people. Like death, he is never full. He grabs whole nations for himself. He collects all the peoples as his own.

NoteThe KJV says "hell" here. The old word means the grave, the place where dead people go.

6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

6Will all of them not make up a song to laugh at him? They will say, "Too bad for the man who piles up what is not his! How long will this go on? He loads himself down with what he owes."

NoteThe KJV says "thick clay." The old wording is about things people hand over as a promise to pay back what they owe.

7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

7The people you owe will stand up all at once. They will wake up and shake you hard. Then you will be the thing they take.

8Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

8You robbed many nations. So the people who are left will rob you. This is because you killed people. It is because you hurt the land, the city, and everyone living there.

9Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

9Too bad for the man who gets rich in a bad way. He builds his house up high like a nest. He thinks nothing bad can reach him up there.

10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

10You planned shame for your own family. You wiped out many people. You have hurt your own life.

11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

11The stones in your wall will cry out. The wooden beams will answer them back.

12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

12Too bad for the man who builds a town by killing! Too bad for the one who builds a city by doing wrong!

13Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

13The LORD rules over all the armies of heaven. Has he not decided this? People work hard, and their work only feeds a fire. They wear themselves out for nothing.

Note"Vanity" in the KJV means empty or worthless. It does not mean being proud of how you look.

14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

14One day the whole earth will know how great the LORD is. It will be as full of that as the sea is full of water.

15Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

15Too bad for the man who gives his neighbors drink. He keeps pouring from his wine bag until they are drunk. He does it so he can stare at their bare bodies.

16Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

16You will be full of shame instead of honor. Now you must drink too. You will be stripped bare. The LORD will hand you the cup from his right hand. Deep disgrace will cover the honor you had.

17For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

17You hurt the forests of Lebanon, so that hurt will fall back on you. You destroyed its animals, and that will fill you with fear. This is because you killed people. It is because you hurt the land, the city, and everyone living there.

18What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

18What good is a statue that a worker carved? What good is one made of melted metal? It teaches lies. The man who made it trusts the thing his own hands made. But the statues he makes cannot say one word.

19Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

19Too bad for the man who says to a piece of wood, "Wake up!" Too bad for the one who says to a silent stone, "Get up!" Can it teach him anything? It is covered with gold and silver. But there is no breath inside it at all.

20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

20But the LORD is in his holy temple, the house where people come to worship him. Let everyone on earth be quiet before him.