Nahum 1
New Century Version
1 This is the message for the city of Nineveh.[a] This is the book of the vision of Nahum, who was from the town of Elkosh.
The Lord Is Angry with Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous God who punishes;
the Lord punishes and is filled with anger.
The Lord punishes those who are against him,
and he stays angry with his enemies.
3 The Lord does not become angry quickly,
and his power is great.
The Lord will not let the guilty go unpunished.
Where the Lord goes, there are whirlwinds and storms,
and the clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 He speaks to the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers.
The areas of Bashan and Carmel dry up,
and the flowers of Lebanon dry up.
5 The mountains shake in front of him,
and the hills melt.
The earth trembles when he comes;
the world and all who live in it shake with fear.
6 No one can stay alive when he is angry;
no one can survive his strong anger.
His anger is poured out like fire;
the rocks are smashed by him.
7 The Lord is good,
giving protection in times of trouble.
He knows who trusts in him.
8 But like a rushing flood,
he will completely destroy Nineveh;
he will chase his enemies until he kills them.
9 The Lord will completely destroy
anyone making plans against him.
Trouble will not come a second time.
10 Those people will be like tangled thorns
or like people drunk from their wine;
they will be burned up quickly like dry weeds.
11 Someone has come from Nineveh
who makes evil plans against the Lord
and gives wicked advice.
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Although Assyria is strong and has many people,
it will be defeated and brought to an end.
Although I have made you suffer, Judah,
I will make you suffer no more.
13 Now I will free you from their control
and tear away your chains.”
14 The Lord has given you this command, Nineveh:
“You will not have descendants to carry on your name.
I will destroy the idols and metal images
that are in the temple of your gods.
I will make a grave for you,
because you are wicked.”
15 Look, there on the hills,
someone is bringing good news!
He is announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, people of Judah,
and give your promised sacrifices to God.
The wicked will not come to attack you again;
they have been completely destroyed.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Nineveh The capital city of the country of Assyria. Nahum uses Nineveh to stand for all of Assyria.
Zephaniah 3
New Century Version
Jerusalem Will Be Punished
3 How terrible for the wicked, stubborn city of Jerusalem,
which hurts its own people.
2 It obeys no voice;
it can’t be taught to do right.
It doesn’t trust the Lord;
it doesn’t worship its God.
3 Its officers are like roaring lions.
Its rulers are like hungry wolves that attack in the evening,
and in the morning nothing is left of those they attacked.
4 Its prophets are proud;
they are people who cannot be trusted.
Its priests don’t respect holy things;
they break God’s teachings.
5 But the Lord is good, and he is there in that city.
He does no wrong.
Every morning he governs the people fairly;
every day he can be trusted.
But evil people are not ashamed of what they do.
6 “I have destroyed nations;
their towers were ruined.
I made their streets empty
so no one goes there anymore.
Their cities are ruined;
no one lives there at all.
7 I said, ‘Surely now Jerusalem will respect me
and will accept my teaching.’
Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed,
and I would not have to punish them.
But they were still eager
to do evil in everything they did.
8 Just wait,” says the Lord.
“Someday I will stand up as a witness.
I have decided that I will gather nations
and assemble kingdoms.
I will pour out my anger on them,
all my strong anger.
My anger will be like fire
that will burn up the whole world.
A New Day for God’s People
9 “Then I will give the people of all nations pure speech
so that all of them will speak the name of the Lord
and worship me together.
10 People will come from where the Nile River begins;
my scattered people will come with gifts for me.
11 Then Jerusalem will not be ashamed
of the wrongs done against me,
because I will remove from this city
those who like to brag;
there will never be any more proud people
on my holy mountain in Jerusalem.
12 But I will leave in the city
the humble and those who are not proud,
and they will trust in the Lord.
13 Those who are left alive in Israel won’t do wrong or tell lies;
they won’t trick people with their words.
They will eat and lie down
with no one to make them afraid.”
A Happy Song
14 Sing, Jerusalem.
Israel, shout for joy!
Jerusalem, be happy
and rejoice with all your heart.
15 The Lord has stopped punishing you;
he has sent your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
you will never again be afraid of being harmed.
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Don’t be afraid, city of Jerusalem.
Don’t give up.
17 The Lord your God is with you;
the mighty One will save you.
He will rejoice over you.
You will rest in his love;
he will sing and be joyful about you.”
18 “I will take away the sadness planned for you,
which would have made you very ashamed.
19 At that time I will punish
all those who harmed you.
I will save my people who cannot walk
and gather my people who have been thrown out.
I will give them praise and honor
in every place where they were shamed.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you back home.
I will give you honor and praise
from people everywhere
when I make things go well again for you,
as you will see with your own eyes,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 1-5
New Century Version
1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah. He belonged to the family of priests who lived in the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. 2 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. 3 The Lord also spoke to Jeremiah while Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah and during the eleven years that Zedekiah son of Josiah was king of Judah. In the fifth month of his last year, the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.
The Lord Calls Jeremiah
4 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:
5 “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you.
Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “But Lord God, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere I send you, and you must say everything I tell you to say. 8 Don’t be afraid of anyone, because I am with you to protect you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth. He said to me, “See, I am putting my words in your mouth. 10 Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms. You will pull up and tear down, destroy and overthrow, build up and plant.”
Jeremiah Sees Two Visions
11 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I answered, “I see a stick of almond wood.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, because I am watching to make sure my words come true.”
13 The Lord spoke his word to me again: “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water, tipping over from the north.”
14 The Lord said to me, “Disaster will come from the north and strike all the people who live in this country. 15 In a short time I will call all of the people in the northern kingdoms,” said the Lord.
“Those kings will come and set up their thrones
near the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.
They will attack all the city walls around Jerusalem
and all the cities in Judah.
16 And I will announce my judgments against my people
because of their evil in turning away from me.
They offered sacrifices to other gods
and worshiped idols they had made with their own hands.
17 “Jeremiah, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything I command you to say. Don’t be afraid of the people, or I will give you good reason to be afraid of them. 18 Today I am going to make you a strong city, an iron pillar, a bronze wall. You will be able to stand against everyone in the land: Judah’s kings, officers, priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not defeat you, because I am with you to protect you!” says the Lord.
Israel Turns from God
2 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Go and speak to the people of Jerusalem, saying: This is what the Lord says:
‘I remember how faithful you were to me when you were a young nation.
You loved me like a young bride.
You followed me through the desert,
a land that had never been planted.
3 The people of Israel were holy to the Lord,
like the firstfruits from his harvest.
Those who tried to hurt Israel were judged guilty.
Disasters struck them,’” says the Lord.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, family of Jacob,
all you family groups of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“I was fair to your ancestors,
so why did they turn away from me?
Your ancestors worshiped useless idols
and became useless themselves.
6 Your ancestors didn’t say,
‘Where is the Lord who brought us out of Egypt?
He led us through the desert,
through a dry and rocky land,
through a dark and dangerous land.
He led us where no one travels or lives.’
7 I brought you into a fertile land
so you could eat its fruit and produce.
But you came and made my land unclean;
you made it a hateful place.
8 The priests didn’t ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
The people who know the teachings didn’t know me.
The leaders turned against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
and worshiped useless idols.
9 “So now I will again tell what I have against you,” says the Lord.
“And I will tell what I have against your grandchildren.
10 Go across the sea to the island of Cyprus and see.
Send someone to the land of Kedar to look closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(Of course, its gods are not really gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
for idols worth nothing.
12 Skies, be shocked at the things that have happened
and shake with great fear!” says the Lord.
13 “My people have done two evils:
They have turned away from me,
the spring of living water.
And they have dug their own wells,
which are broken wells that cannot hold water.
14 Have the people of Israel become slaves?
Have they become like someone who was born a slave?
Why were they taken captive?
15 Enemies have roared like lions at Israel;
they have growled at Israel.
They have destroyed the land of Israel.
The cities of Israel lie in ruins,
and all the people have left.
16 The men from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have disgraced you by shaving the top of your head.
17 Haven’t you brought this on yourselves
by turning away from the Lord your God
when he was leading you in the right way?
18 It did not help to go to Egypt
and drink from the Shihor River.
It did not help to go to Assyria
and drink from the Euphrates River.
19 Your evil will bring punishment to you,
and the wrong you have done will teach you a lesson.
Think about it and understand
that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord your God.
It is wrong not to fear me,”
says the Lord God All-Powerful.
20 “Long ago you refused to obey me as an ox breaks its yoke.
You broke the ropes I used to hold you
and said, ‘I will not serve you!’
In fact, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
21 But I planted you as a special vine,
as a very good seed.
How then did you turn
into a wild vine that grows bad fruit?
22 Although you wash yourself with cleanser
and use much soap,
I can still see the stain of your guilt,” says the Lord God.
23 “How can you say to me, ‘I am not guilty.
I have not worshiped the Baal idols’?
Look at the things you did in the valley.
Think about what you have done.
You are like a she-camel in mating season
that runs from place to place.
24 You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert
and sniffs the wind at mating time.
At that time who can hold her back?
Any male who chases her will easily catch her;
at mating time, it is easy to find her.
25 Don’t run until your feet are bare
or until your throat is dry.
But you say, ‘It’s no use!
I love those other gods,
and I must chase them!’
26 “A thief is ashamed when someone catches him stealing.
In the same way, the family of Israel is ashamed—
they, their kings, their officers,
their priests, and their prophets.
27 They say to things of wood, ‘You are my father,’
and to idols of stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
Those people won’t look at me;
they have turned their backs to me.
But when they get into trouble, they say,
‘Come and save us!’
28 Where are the idols you made for yourselves?
Let them come and save you
when you are in trouble!
People of Judah, you have as many idols
as you have towns!
29 “Why do you complain to me?
All of you have turned against me,” says the Lord.
30 “I punished your people, but it did not help.
They didn’t come back when they were punished.
With your swords you killed your prophets
like a hungry lion.
31 “People of Judah, pay attention to the word of the Lord:
Have I been like a desert to the people of Israel
or like a dark and dangerous land?
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to wander.
We won’t come to you anymore’?
32 A young woman does not forget her jewelry,
and a bride does not forget the decorations for her dress.
But my people have forgotten me
for more days than can be counted.
33 You really know how to chase after love.
Even the worst women can learn evil ways from you.
34 Even on your clothes you have the blood
of poor and innocent people,
but they weren’t thieves you caught breaking in.
You do all these things,
35 but you say, ‘I am innocent.
God is not angry with me.’
But I will judge you guilty of lying,
because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 It is so easy for you to change your mind.
Even Egypt will let you down,
as Assyria let you down.
37 You will eventually leave that place
with your hands on your head, like captives.
You trusted those countries,
but you will not be helped by them,
because the Lord has rejected them.
Judah Is Unfaithful
3 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should her first husband come back to her again?
If he went back to her, wouldn’t the land become completely unclean?
But you have acted like a prostitute with many lovers,
and now you want to come back to me?” says the Lord.
2 “Look up to the bare hilltops, Judah.
Is there any place where you have not been a prostitute?
You have sat by the road waiting for lovers,
like an Arab in the desert.
You made the land unclean,
because you did evil and were like a prostitute.
3 So the rain has not come,
and there have not been any spring rains.
But your face still looks like the face of a prostitute.
You refuse even to be ashamed of what you did.
4 Now you are calling to me,
‘My father, you have been my friend since I was young.
5 Will you always be angry at me?
Will your anger last forever?’
Judah, you said this,
but you did as much evil as you could!”
Judah and Israel Are like Sisters
6 When King Josiah was ruling Judah, the Lord said to me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She was like a prostitute with her idols on every hill and under every green tree. 7 I said to myself, ‘Israel will come back to me after she does this evil,’ but she didn’t come back. And Israel’s wicked sister Judah saw what she did. 8 Judah saw that I divorced unfaithful Israel because of her adultery, but that didn’t make Israel’s wicked sister Judah afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute! 9 And she didn’t care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country unclean and was guilty of adultery, because she worshiped idols made of stone and wood. 10 Israel’s wicked sister didn’t even come back to me with her whole heart, but only pretended,” says the Lord.
11 The Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel had a better excuse than wicked Judah. 12 Go and speak this message toward the north:
‘Come back, unfaithful people of Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will stop being angry at you,
because I am full of mercy,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13 All you have to do is admit your sin—
that you turned against the Lord your God
and worshiped gods under every green tree
and didn’t obey me,’” says the Lord.
14 “Come back to me, you unfaithful children,” says the Lord, “because I am your master. I will take one person from every city and two from every family group, and I will bring you to Jerusalem. 15 Then I will give you new rulers who will be faithful to me, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days there will be many of you in the land,” says the Lord. “At that time people will no longer say, ‘I remember the Ark of the Agreement.’ They won’t think about it anymore or remember it or miss it or make another one. 17 At that time people will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will come together in Jerusalem to show respect to the Lord. They will not follow their stubborn, evil hearts anymore. 18 In those days the family of Judah will join the family of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north to the land I gave their ancestors.
19 “I, the Lord, said,
‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own children
and give you a pleasant land,
a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘My Father’
and not turn away from me.
20 But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,
family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.
21 You can hear crying on the bare hilltops.
It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy.
They have become very evil
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Come back to me, you unfaithful children,
and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”
“Yes, we will come to you,
because you are the Lord our God.
23 It was foolish to worship idols on the hills
and on the mountains.
Surely the salvation of Israel
comes from the Lord our God.
24 Since our youth, shameful gods have eaten up in sacrifice
everything our ancestors worked for—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us like a blanket.
We have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From our youth until now,
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
4 “If you will return, Israel,
then return to me,” says the Lord.
“If you will throw away your idols that I hate,
then don’t wander away from me.
2 If you say when you make a promise,
‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
and you can say it in a truthful, honest, and right way,
then the nations will be blessed by him,
and they will praise him for what he has done.”
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields,
and don’t plant seeds among thorns.
4 Give yourselves to the service of the Lord,
and decide to obey him,
people of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire,
and no one will be able to put it out,
because of the evil you have done.
Trouble from the North
5 “Announce this message in Judah and say it in Jerusalem:
‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’
Shout out loud and say,
‘Come together!
Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
6 Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem!
Run for your lives, and don’t wait,
because I am bringing disaster from the north
There will be terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his den;
a destroyer of nations has begun to march.
He has left his home
to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed
with no one left to live in them.
8 So put on rough cloth,
show how sad you are, and cry loudly.
The terrible anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “When this happens,” says the Lord,
“the king and officers will lose their courage.
The priests will be terribly afraid,
and the prophets will be shocked!”
10 Then I said, “Lord God, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace,’ but now the sword is pointing at our throats!”
11 At that time this message will be given to Judah and Jerusalem: “A hot wind blows from the bare hilltops of the desert toward the Lord’s people. It is not a gentle wind to separate grain from chaff. 12 I feel a stronger wind than that. Now even I will announce judgments against the people of Judah.”
13 Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud,
and his chariots come like a tornado.
His horses are faster than eagles.
How terrible it will be for us! We are ruined!
14 People of Jerusalem, clean the evil from your hearts so that you can be saved.
Don’t continue making evil plans.
15 A voice from Dan makes an announcement
and brings bad news from the mountains of Ephraim.
16 “Report this to the nations.
Spread this news in Jerusalem:
‘Invaders are coming from a faraway country,
shouting words of war against the cities of Judah.
17 The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem as men guard a field,
because Judah turned against me,’” says the Lord.
18 “The way you have lived and acted
has brought this trouble to you.
This is your punishment.
How terrible it is!
The pain stabs your heart!”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19 Oh, how I hurt! How I hurt!
I am bent over in pain.
Oh, the torture in my heart!
My heart is pounding inside me.
I cannot keep quiet,
because I have heard the sound of the trumpet.
I have heard the shouts of war.
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole country has been destroyed.
My tents are destroyed in only a moment.
My curtains are torn down quickly.
21 How long must I look at the war flag?
How long must I listen to the war trumpet?
22 The Lord says, “My people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are stupid children;
they don’t understand.
They are skillful at doing evil,
but they don’t know how to do good.”
Disaster Is Coming
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was empty and had no shape.
I looked at the sky,
and its light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were shaking.
All the hills were trembling.
25 I looked, and there were no people.
Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the good, rich land had become a desert.
All its towns had been destroyed
by the Lord and his great anger.
27 This is what the Lord says:
“All the land will be ruined,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28 So the people in the land will cry loudly,
and the sky will grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not change my mind.
I have made a decision, and I will not change it.”
29 At the sound of the horsemen and the archers,
all the people in the towns run away.
They hide in the thick bushes
and climb up into the rocks.
All of the cities of Judah are empty;
no one lives in them.
30 Judah, you destroyed nation, what are you doing?
Why do you put on your finest dress
and decorate yourself with gold jewelry?
Why do you put color around your eyes?
You make yourself beautiful, but it is all useless.
Your lovers hate you;
they want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like a woman having a baby,
distress like a woman having her first child.
It is the sound of Jerusalem gasping for breath.
She lifts her hands in prayer and says,
“Oh! I am about to faint
before my murderers!”
No One Is Right
5 The Lord says, “Walk up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and discover these things.
Search the public squares of the city.
If you can find one person who does honest things,
who searches for the truth,
I will forgive this city.
2 Although the people say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
they don’t really mean it.”
3 Lord, don’t you look for truth in people?
You struck the people of Judah,
but they didn’t feel any pain.
You crushed them,
but they refused to learn what is right.
They became more stubborn than a rock;
they refused to turn back to God.
4 But I thought,
“These are only the poor, foolish people.
They have not learned the way of the Lord
and what their God wants them to do.
5 So I will go to the leaders of Judah
and talk to them.
Surely they understand the way of the Lord
and know what God wants them to do.”
But even the leaders had all joined together to break away from the Lord;
they had broken their ties with him.
6 So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will kill them.
A leopard is waiting for them near their towns.
It will tear to pieces anyone who comes out of the city,
because the people of Judah have sinned greatly.
They have wandered away from the Lord many times.
7 The Lord said, “Tell me why I should forgive you.
Your children have left me
and have made promises to idols that are not gods at all.
I gave your children everything they needed,
but they still were like an unfaithful wife to me.
They spent much time in houses of prostitutes.
8 They are like well-fed horses filled with sexual desire;
each one wants another man’s wife.
9 Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves?
10 “Go along and cut down Judah’s vineyards,
but do not completely destroy them.
Cut off all her people as if they were branches,
because they do not belong to the Lord.
11 The families of Israel and Judah
have been completely unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.
12 Those people have lied about the Lord
and said, “He will not do anything to us!
Nothing bad will happen to us!
We will never see war or hunger!
13 The prophets are like an empty wind;
the word of God is not in them.
Let the bad things they say happen to them.”
14 So this is what the Lord God All-Powerful says:
“The people said I would not punish them.
So, the words I give you will be like fire,
and these people will be like wood that it burns up.
15 Listen, family of Israel,” says the Lord,
“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It is an old nation that has lasted a long time.
The people there speak a language you do not know;
you cannot understand what they say.
16 Their arrows bring death.
All their people are strong warriors.
17 They will eat your crops and your food.
They will eat your sons and daughters.
They will eat your flocks and herds.
They will eat your grapes and figs.
They will destroy with their swords
the strong, walled cities you trust.
18 “Yet even then,” says the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. 19 When the people of Judah ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these terrible things to us?’ then give them this answer: ‘You have left the Lord and served foreign idols in your own land. So now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’
20 “Announce this message to the family of Jacob,
and tell it to the nation of Judah:
21 Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense.
They have eyes, but they don’t really see.
They have ears, but they don’t really listen.
22 Surely you are afraid of me,” says the Lord.
“You should shake with fear in my presence.
I am the one who made the beaches to be a border for the sea,
a border the water can never go past.
The waves may pound the beach, but they can’t win over it.
They may roar, but they cannot go beyond it.
23 But the people of Judah are stubborn and have turned against me.
They have turned aside and gone away from me.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘We should fear the Lord our God,
who gives us autumn and spring rains in their seasons,
who makes sure we have the harvest at the right time.’
25 But your evil has kept away both rain and harvest.
Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
26 There are wicked men among my people.
Like those who make nets for catching birds,
they set their traps to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of lies.
They have become rich and powerful.
28 They have grown big and fat.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
They won’t plead the case of the orphan
or help the poor be judged fairly.
29 Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves?
30 “A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah:
31 The prophets speak lies,
and the priests take power into their own hands,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do when the end comes?
Habakkuk 1
New Century Version
1 This is the message Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk Complains
2 Lord, how long must I ask for help
and you ignore me?
I cry out to you about violence,
but you do not save us!
3 Why do you make me see wrong things
and make me look at trouble?
People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me;
they are arguing and fighting.
4 So the teachings are weak,
and justice never comes.
Evil people gain while good people lose;
the judges no longer make fair decisions.
The Lord Answers
5 “Look at the nations!
Watch them and be amazed and shocked.
I will do something in your lifetime
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it.
6 I will use the Babylonians,
those cruel and wild people
who march across the earth
and take lands that don’t belong to them.
7 They scare and frighten people.
They do what they want to do
and are good only to themselves.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and quicker than wolves at sunset.
Their horse soldiers attack quickly;
they come from places far away.
They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.
9 They all come to fight.
Nothing can stop them.
Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.
10 They laugh at kings
and make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all the strong, walled cities
and build dirt piles to the top of the walls to capture them.
11 Then they leave like the wind and move on.
They are guilty of worshiping their own strength.”
Habakkuk Complains Again
12 Lord, you live forever,
my God, my holy God.
We will not die.
Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians to punish people;
our Rock, you picked them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too good to look at evil;
you cannot stand to see those who do wrong.
So how can you put up with those evil people?
How can you be quiet when the wicked swallow up people who are better than they are?
14 You treat people like fish in the sea,
like sea animals without a leader.
15 The enemy brings them in with hooks.
He catches them in his net
and drags them in his fishnet.
So he rejoices and sings for joy.
16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to worship it,
because it lets him live like the rich
and enjoy the best food.
17 Will he keep on taking riches with his net?
Will he go on destroying people without showing mercy?
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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