Habakkuk 2:1-20
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower,a and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For 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.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5 Yea 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:
6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woeb to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood,c and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9 Woe to him that covetethd an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood,e and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, 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?
14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
15 Woe 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!
16 Thou 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.
17 For 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.
18 What 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?
19 Woe 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.
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
The Problem of Assyria
Habakkuk
Gordon Churchyard
Chapter 2
v1 I will stand and I will watch. I will stay on the walls (of the city). I will look to see what (God) will say to me. And I will see what answer I will have for my problem.
(The *LORD answers.)
v2 Then the *LORD replied to me. And he said, ‘Write down what I will show you. Make it very clear on (the page) where you write it. Then the runner can tell (people) all about it.
v3 What I will show you must wait for the proper time. But at that time, it will happen. It will happen as I have said. It may not happen for a long time but wait for it. It will certainly happen and it will not be late.
v4 Look (at the *Babylonians). They are *proud. The things that they want are not good. But *righteous people will live by their *faith (in God).
v5 And also, *wine will destroy (Babylon). Yes, they are *proud and they never stop taking things (from people). They never have enough, as *Sheol and death (never have enough). They take people from all countries for themselves and they take people from everywhere.
v6 (The people in all these countries) will make up a song against it (Babylon). They will laugh at it and they will say bad things about it. They will say, “Some people rob other people. And they keep what they take. A sad time will come to those people. Some people get a lot of money by the very bad things that they do. (A sad time will come) to those people. They will not always be able to do this.”
v7 The people that you have taken things from will wake up. It will happen when you are not thinking about it! They will get up and they will make you afraid. Then you will be the people that they will rob!
v8 You have robbed many countries. So the people that remain will rob you. That is because you have killed people. And you have destroyed their towns and their lands. You have killed everyone that lived there.
v9 Some people get things for themselves by ways that are not honest. A sad time will come to those people. You build your homes high up so that nobody can take you to do bad things to you.
v10 You decided to kill the people from many countries. Because of this, you will be ashamed. And you will pay with your own life.
v11 Even the stones in the walls will cry. The beams that you made from wood will do it as well.
v12 A man might build a city by killing people. A man might make a town great because he has been very bad. A sad time will come to that man.
v13 The work that people do will go into the fire. The *LORD of everything has decided that it will. People in many countries will make themselves tired for nothing!
v14 But the earth will become filled with (people that) know about the *glory of the *LORD. This will be as the waters cover the sea.
v15 A sad time will come to him that gives (strong) drink to his neighbours (people that live near him). He pours out *wine until they are drunk. Then he looks at them when they have no clothes on!
v16 You will be really ashamed. Nobody will think that you are great. Then you will drink and people will see you with no clothes on! The cup in the *LORD’s right hand will come round to you. You will be ashamed. You will not remain great.
v17 The *violence that you did to Lebanon will pour over you. You will be very frightened because you killed animals. And you have killed people. And you have destroyed their towns and their lands. You have also killed everyone who lived there.
v18 An *idol is of no value. It was a man that made it! It is a copy (of a false god). It teaches (that man) things that are not true. (This is) because he is *trusting his own work. He has made *idols that cannot speak!
v19 It will be very bad for someone who says to a piece of wood, “Wake up!” He says to a stone that cannot speak, “Get up and be my guide!” Look at it (the *idol). It has gold and *silver over it but it is not alive.
v20 But the *LORD (is) in his *holy *temple. Everything in the world should be quiet in front of him.’
Notes on Habakkuk Chapter 2
Verses 2-20 The *LORD says that someone will destroy Babylon. In verse 5 we read, ‘*wine will destroy Babylon’. The Book of Daniel tells us that this really happened, about 70 years later! God may use *wicked people. But he makes sure that someone destroys their country later. Sometimes we see God use *wicked people. Then we must wait for someone to *punish them. It always happens because God has authority! ‘*Sheol and death never have enough’ in verse 5 means that people are always dying.In this part of the book, we find 5 things that bad people (and bad countries) do:
• they rob other people, verse 6
• they are not honest, verse 9
• they kill people, verse 12
• many people become drunk, verse 15
• they have false gods, verse 18
People that do not obey God still do these things. So God will still *punish them. He may still use *wicked people to do it. But later, he will *punish those *wicked people. If we wait long enough, it will happen! We must be quiet until this happens. That is what verse 20 means.
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words)
LORD ~ a special name for God that only his servants should use.Lord ~ someone with authority; also a name for God. (It is not the same Hebrew word as LORD.)
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Babylonians ~ these people came from the country called Babylon.
proud ~ to think that you are important when perhaps you are not.
righteous ~ very, very good; only God is really righteous.
wine ~ a drink with alcohol in it; people make it from grapes (a fruit).
Sheol ~ where Old Testament people went when they died.
Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before Christ’s birth.
glory ~ it shines very much and it makes you important.
violence ~ to be cruel and to hurt people a lot.
idol ~ a false god.
trust ~ believe that someone will be good to you; believe what someone says.
silver ~ a metal of great value, like gold.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem; or the house of any god.
wicked ~ very, very bad.
punish ~ hurt people because they have done bad things.