Habakkuk’s Prayer
1 A prayer of hHabakkuk the prophet, according to iShigionoth.
2 O Lord, jI have heard the report of you,
and your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.
3 kGod came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and lthe earth was full of his praise.
4 His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5 Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed at his heels.1
6 He stood and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the eternal mountains were scattered;
the meverlasting hills sank low.
His were the everlasting ways.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
or your indignation against the sea,
when you rode on your horses,
on your nchariot of salvation?
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows.2 Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains osaw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
the deep gave forth its pvoice;
it lifted its hands on high.
11 qThe sun and moon stood still in their place
at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your rglittering spear.
12 You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.
13 You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.3 Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15 You strampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
16 I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord
17 tThough the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will urejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
vhe makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed4 instruments.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
22 aThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were bamazed, and said, c“Can this be the dSon of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, e“It is only by fBeelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a gstrong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the iblasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
33 j“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the ktree is known by its fruit. 34 You lbrood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? mFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will ngive account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 oThen some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, p“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For qjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be rthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for sthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for tshe came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Return of an Unclean Spirit
43 u“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the vlast state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 wWhile he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers1 stood outside, asking to speak to him.2 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For xwhoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my ybrother and sister and mother.”
