Woe to the Chaldeans

Habakkuk 2

6 Shall not all these s take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
t "Woe to him u who heaps up what is not his own -
for v how long? -
and w loads himself with pledges!"
 7 x Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
 8 y Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
z for the blood of man and y violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.

9 t "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
a to b set his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
 10 You have devised shame for your house
c by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
 11 For d the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.

12 t "Woe to him e who builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
 13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that f peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
 14 g For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of h the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

15 t "Woe to him i who makes his neighbors drink -
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze j at their nakedness!
 16 You will have your fill k of shame instead of glory.
l Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
l The cup in the Lord's right hand
will come around to you,
and m utter shame will come upon your glory!
 17 n The violence o done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
n for the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.

18 p "What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, q a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes r speechless idols!
 19 s Woe to him t who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and u there is no breath at all in it.
 20 But v the Lord is in his holy temple;
w let all the earth keep silence before him."

  1. Cross References
    Micah 2:4
    In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, "We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields.
    Numbers 23:7
    And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!
  2. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:19
    Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.
    Isaiah 5:8
    Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
  3. Cross References
    Habakkuk 1:6
    For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.
  4. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:12
    Then the angel of the Lord said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?
  5. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:7
    Does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 21:5 - 9
    They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes; oil the shield!
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 33:1
    Ah, you destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed, you traitor, whom none has betrayed! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 33:1
    Ah, you destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed, you traitor, whom none has betrayed! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you.
  9. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:17
    The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
  10. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:6
    Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own - for how long? - and loads himself with pledges!
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 14:13
    You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 49:16
    The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.
    Numbers 24:21
    And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock.
  13. Cross References
    Habakkuk 1:17
    Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?
  14. Cross References
    Luke 19:40
    He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.
  15. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:6
    Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own - for how long? - and loads himself with pledges!
  16. Cross References
    Micah 3:10
    Who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 51:58
    "Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire."
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 11:9
    They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
  19. Cross References
    Psalms 72:19
    Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!
  20. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:6
    Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own - for how long? - and loads himself with pledges!
  21. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:5
    "Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples."
    Jeremiah 51:7
    Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord 's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.
  22. Cross References
    Lamentations 4:21
    Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
    Genesis 9:22
    And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
  23. Cross References
    Nahum 3:5
    Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame.
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 25:15
    Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
    Jeremiah 25:26
    All the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 25:15
    Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
    Jeremiah 25:26
    All the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink.
  26. Cross References
    Nahum 3:6
    I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
  27. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:8
    Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
  28. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:8
    Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
  29. Cross References
    Isaiah 14:8
    The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.
    Jeremiah 22:23
    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:10
    Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?
  31. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:8
    They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
    Jeremiah 10:14
    Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
    Zechariah 10:2
    For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
  32. Cross References
    Psalms 115:5
    They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
    1 Corinthians 12:2
    You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
  33. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:6
    Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own - for how long? - and loads himself with pledges!
    Habakkuk 2:9
    Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!
    Habakkuk 2:12
    Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!
    Habakkuk 2:15
    Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink - you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
  34. Cross References
    1 Kings 18:26 - 27
    And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 135:17
    They have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.
    Jeremiah 10:14
    Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
  36. Cross References
    Psalms 11:4
    The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord 's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
    Micah 1:2
    Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
  37. Cross References
    Zephaniah 1:7
    Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.
    Zechariah 2:13
    Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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