The Living Bible (290 page)

Habakkuk
2

I will climb my watchtower now and wait to see what answer God will give to my complaint.

    
²
 And the Lord said to me, “Write my answer on a billboard,
*
large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others.
³
 But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow,
*
do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!

    
⁴
 “Note this: Wicked men trust themselves alone as these Chaldeans do,
*
and fail; but the righteous man trusts in me and lives!
*
⁵
 What’s more, these arrogant Chaldeans are betrayed by all their wine, for it is treacherous. In their greed they have collected many nations, but like death and hell, they are never satisfied.
⁶
 The time is coming when all their captives will taunt them, saying: ‘You robbers! At last justice has caught up with you! Now you will get your just deserts for your oppression and extortion!’

    
⁷
 “Suddenly your debtors will rise up in anger and turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless.
⁸
 You have ruined many nations; now they will ruin you. You murderers! You have filled the countryside with lawlessness and all the cities too.

    
⁹
 “Woe to you for getting rich by evil means, attempting to live beyond the reach of danger.
¹⁰
 By the murders you commit, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.
¹¹
 The very stones in the walls of your homes cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo what they say.

    
¹²
 “Woe to you who build cities with money gained from murdering and robbery!
¹³
 Has not the Lord decreed that godless nations’ gains will turn to ashes in their hands? They work so hard, but all in vain!

    
¹⁴
 (“The time will come when all the earth is filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.)

    
¹⁵
 “Woe to you for making your neighboring lands reel and stagger like drunkards beneath your blows, and then gloating over their nakedness and shame.
¹⁶
 Soon your own glory will be replaced by shame. Drink down God’s judgment on yourselves. Stagger and fall!
¹⁷
 You cut down the forests of Lebanon—now you will be cut down! You terrified the wild animals you caught in your traps—now terror will strike you because of all your murdering and violence in cities everywhere.

    
¹⁸
 “What profit was there in worshiping all your man-made idols? What a foolish lie that they could help! What fools you were to trust what you yourselves had made.
¹⁹
 Woe to those who command their lifeless wooden idols to arise and save them, who call out to the speechless stone to tell them what to do. Can images speak for God? They are overlaid with gold and silver, but there is no breath at all inside!

    
²⁰
 “But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”

Habakkuk
3

This is the prayer of triumph
*
that Habakkuk sang before the Lord:

    
²
 O Lord, now I have heard your report, and I worship you in awe for the fearful things you are going to do. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. In your wrath, remember mercy.

    
³
 I see God moving across the deserts from Mount Sinai.
*
His brilliant splendor fills the earth and sky; his glory fills the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise! What a wonderful God he is!
⁴
 From his hands flash rays of brilliant light. He rejoices in his awesome power.
*
⁵
 Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind.
⁶
 He stops; he stands still for a moment, gazing at the earth. Then he shakes the nations, scattering the everlasting mountains and leveling the hills. His power is just the same as always!
⁷
 I see the people of Cushan and of Midian in mortal fear.

    
^8-9
 Was it in anger, Lord, you smote the rivers and parted the sea? Were you displeased with them? No, you were sending your chariots of salvation! All saw your power! Then springs burst forth upon the earth at your command!
*
¹⁰
 The mountains watched and trembled. Onward swept the raging water. The mighty deep cried out, announcing its surrender to the Lord.
*
¹¹
 The lofty sun and moon began to fade, obscured by brilliance from your arrows and the flashing of your glittering spear.

    
¹²
 You marched across the land in awesome anger and trampled down the nations in your wrath.
¹³
 You went out to save your chosen people. You crushed the head of the wicked and laid bare his bones from head to toe.
¹⁴
 You destroyed with their own weapons those who came out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be an easy prey.

    
¹⁵
 Your horsemen marched across the sea; the mighty waters piled high.
¹⁶
 I tremble when I hear all this; my lips quiver with fear. My legs give way beneath me, and I shake in terror. I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon the people who invade us.

    
¹⁷
 Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit; though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty,
¹⁸
 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹
 The Lord God is my strength; he will give me the speed of a deer and bring me safely over the mountains.

    
(A note to the choir director: When singing this ode, the choir is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

Zephaniah

1
 
2
 
3
 

Zephaniah
1

Subject: a message from the Lord.

    
To:
Zephaniah (son of Cushi, grandson of Gedaliah, great-grandson of Amariah, and great-great-grandson of Hezekiah).
When:
During the reign of Josiah (son of Amon) king of Judah.
*

    
²
 “I will sweep away everything in all your land,” says the Lord. “I will destroy it to the ground.
³
 I will sweep away both men and animals alike. Mankind and all the idols that he worships—all will vanish. Even the birds of the air and the fish in the sea will perish.
⁴
 I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every remnant of those who worship Baal; I will put an end to their idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear.
⁵
 They go up on their roofs and bow to the sun, moon, and stars. They ‘follow the Lord,’ but worship Molech too! I will destroy them.
⁶
 And I will destroy those who formerly worshiped the Lord, but now no longer do, and those who never loved him and never wanted to.”

    
⁷
 Stand in silence in the presence of the Lord. For the awesome Day of his Judgment has come; he has prepared a great slaughter of his people and has chosen their executioners.
*
⁸
 “On that Day of Judgment I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all others wearing heathen clothing.
*
⁹
 Yes, I will punish those who follow heathen customs and who rob and kill to fill their masters’ homes with evil gain of violence and fraud.
¹⁰
 A cry of alarm will begin at the farthest gate of Jerusalem, coming closer and closer until the noise of the advancing army reaches the very top of the hill where the city is built.

    
¹¹
 “Wail in sorrow, you people of Jerusalem. All your greedy businessmen, all your loan sharks—all will die.

    
¹²
 “I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to find and punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to God, thinking he will leave them alone.
¹³
 They are the very ones whose property will be plundered by the enemy, whose homes will be ransacked; they will never have a chance to live in the new homes they have built. They will never drink wine from the vineyards they have planted.

    
¹⁴
 “That terrible day is near. Swiftly it comes—a day when strong men will weep bitterly.
¹⁵
 It is a day of the wrath of God poured out; it is a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, of clouds, blackness,
¹⁶
 trumpet calls, and battle cries; down go the walled cities and strongest battlements!

    
¹⁷
 “I will make you as helpless as a blind man searching for a path because you have sinned against the Lord; therefore, your blood will be poured out into the dust and your bodies will lie there rotting on the ground.”

    
¹⁸
 Your silver and gold will be of no use to you in that day of the Lord’s wrath. You cannot ransom yourselves with it.
*
For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a speedy riddance of all the people of Judah.