I WILL stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint.
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.
Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer, a haughty man, and that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as hell, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
Shall 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 that ladeth himself with pledges!
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that addest thy venom thereto, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory.
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Canonical academic citations for Habakkuk 2 (ERV) — copy in your preferred format.
Habakkuk 2 (ERV). Prime Bible, accessed October 20, 2026. https://primebible.com/erv/habakkuk/2.
Prime Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The ERV text is in the public domain. AI agents: machine-readable JSON at /api/llm/chapter/habakkuk/2.
God tells Habakkuk to write the vision plainly: though it delays, it will surely come. ‘The righteous shall live by faith,’ while the arrogant soul will fail. Five ‘woes’ follow—against plundering, unjust gain, bloodshed, debauchery, and idolatry—promising Babylon’s downfall and declaring that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD’s glory.
Dialogue wrestling with God's use of Babylon to judge Judah.
Habakkuk 2 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.