1 The aoracle that bHabakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
The Lord’s Answer
5 c“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
For dI am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, I am raising up the eChaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 Their fhorses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an geagle swift to devour.
9 They all come for violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
They laugh at every fortress,
for they pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
guilty men, whose own might is their god!”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Are you not hfrom everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O iRock, have established them for reproof.
13 You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
jwhy do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
14 You make mankind like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 kHe1 brings all of them up with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury,2
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net
and mercilessly killing nations forever?
Messengers from John the Baptist
1 bWhen Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2 Now when John heard in cprison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you dthe one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John ewhat you hear and see: 5 fthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and gthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out hinto the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A iprophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
j“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is kleast in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 lFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, mhe is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear,5 let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither neating nor odrinking, and they say, p‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a qfriend of tax collectors and sinners!’ rYet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”6
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20 sThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be tmore bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be uexalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in vSodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
25 wAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the xwise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.7 27 yAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and zno one knows the Son except the Father, and ano one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to breveal him. 28 cCome dto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and eI will give you rest. 29 Take my fyoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will gfind rest for your souls. 30 For hmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
