Every face turns pale.

Nineveh Will Be Destroyed 11 Where is the lions' den, that feeding place for young lions?

Where are the lion, the lioness, and the lion cub who moved about with no one to terrify them?

12 The lion tore its prey to pieces to feed its cubs.

It strangled the prey for its mates.

It used to fill its caves with torn carcasses and its dens with torn flesh.

13 "I am against you, Nineveh," declares Yahweh Tsebaoth .

"I will send your chariots up in smoke, and a sword will kill your young lions.

I will remove your prey from the earth, and no one will ever hear the voice of your messengers again."

Nineveh's Punishment for Sin 3 1 How horrible it will be for that city of bloody violence!

It is completely full of lies and stolen goods-never without victims.

2 The sound of the whip!

The sound of rattling wheels!

Horses gallop!

Chariots bounce along!

3 Horses charge!

Swords flash!

Spears glitter!

Many are killed!

Dead bodies pile up!

There is no end to the corpses!

People trip over corpses 4 because of Nineveh's constant prostitution, this very charming mistress of evil magic.

She used to sell nations her prostitution and people her evil magic.

5 "I am against you, Nineveh," declares Yahweh Tsebaoth .

"I will lift up your dress over your face.

I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace.

6 I will throw filth on you.

I will make you look like a fool.

I will make you a sight to be seen.

7 Everyone who sees you will run from you, saying, 'Nineveh has been violently destroyed!

Who will feel sorry for her?'

Where can I find anyone to comfort you?"

Nineveh Will Not Escape Punishment 8 Are you better than No-amon,a which sits by the streams of the Nile with water surrounding her?

The sea was her defense.

The water was her wall.

9 Sudan and Egypt were her endless strength.

Put and the Lybians were her help.

10 Even she went into captivity and was exiled.

Even her little children were smashed to death at every street corner.

Soldiers tossed dice for her important men, and all her best men were bound in chains.

11 Even you, Nineveh, will stagger like a drunk.

You will disappear.

Even you will look for a fortress to escape from the enemy.

12 All your defenses will be like fig trees with the earliest figs.

When shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Look at your soldiers; they're women!

The gates of your country are wide open to your enemies.

Fire has destroyed the bars of your gates.

Nineveh's Strength Will Not Save Her 14 Store water for the siege!

Strengthen your defenses!

Step into the claypits and trample the clay!

Grab the brick mold!

15 Fire will consume you there.

A sword will cut you down.

It will consume you like locusts.

Multiply like locusts!

Multiply like hungry locusts!

16 You have produced more businessmen than there are stars in the sky.

They are like locusts that attack and then fly away.

17 Your officers are like locusts, and your scribes are like swarms of locusts that settle on the fences when it is cold.

The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction.

No one knows where they've gone.

18 Your shepherds, king of Assyria, have fallen into a deep sleep.

Your best fighting men are at rest.

Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them.

19 There is no relief for your collapse.

Your wound is fatal.

All who hear the news about you will clap their hands.

Who hasn't suffered from your endless evil?

a 1:13 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.

b 1:14 Nahum 1:15 in English Bibles is Nahum 2:1 in the Hebrew Bible.

c 2:1 Nahum 2:1-13 in English Bibles is Nahum 2:2-14 in the Hebrew Bible.

a 3:8 The city No-amon, also called Thebes, was the capital of southern Egypt.

Introduction to HABAKKUK.

Why doesn't God do something about violence and injustice? How long do we have to keep praying for help before God will finally listen? Habakkuk simply can't understand why God allows Judah to sin so flagrantly-and for so long.

Habakkuk lived in turbulent times. The Assyrians, having wiped out the northern kingdom of Israel, had spent the last hundred or so years raiding Judah. Manasseh, who was king of Judah for fifty-five years, reinstituted fertility cults and even sacrificed his own son (2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chronicles 33:1-20). Habakkuk probably wrote a few years later under the reign of Jehoiakim, another bad king (2 Kings 23:36-24:7; 2 Chronicles 36:5-8). Why, Habakkuk wants to know, is God putting up with so much evil?

God's answer isn't what Habakkuk wants to hear. God is going to do something, all right. He will take care of Assyria's raiders and Judah's perverters of justice in one fell swoop-by sending Babylon's armies! Excuse me, Habakkuk says, but this doesn't sound right either. "Why are you silent when wicked people swallow those who are more righteous than they are?" (Habakkuk 1:13).

Slow down, God says. Be patient. The wicked will be punished in due time, whether they are Assyrian or Babylonian or Jewish. The violent will be violently attacked, cheaters will be cheated, thieves will be robbed. People have trusted gods of their own making, and these gods will prove worthless. "But the righteous person will live because of his faithfulness" (2:4). Righteous people are willing to trust God in the midst of chaos, and to keep on trusting him even when they do not understand his ways. Righteous people believe that one day God's glory will fill the earth.

Habakkuk ends with a beautiful prayer-song about God's power over nature. God will crush evil and save his people when he is ready. In the meantime, Habakkuk will be faithful, no matter what: "Even if the fig tree does not bloom and the vines have no grapes, even if the olive tree fails to produce and the fields yield no food, even if the sheep pen is empty and the stalls have no cattle-even then, I will be happy with Yahweh. I will truly find joy in God, who saves me" (3:17-18).

Key Names of God in Habakkuk Yahweh LORD Elohim, Eloah God Yahweh Tsebaoth the LORD Almighty, the LORD of Armies, the LORD of Hosts Adonay Lord, Master HABAKKUK.

1 2 3.

Habakkuk's Vision 1 1 The divine revelation that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

Habakkuk's Question 2 How long, O Yahweh, am I to cry for help, but you will not listen?

I cry out to you, "There's violence!"

yet you will not come to the rescue.

3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing?

And why do you watch wickedness?

Destruction and violence are in front of me.

Quarrels and disputes arise.

4 That is why your teaching is numbed, and justice is never carried out.

Wicked people surround righteous people so that when justice is carried out, it's perverted.

The LORD'S Answer 5 Look among the nations and watch.

Be amazed and astonished.

I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if it were reported to you.

6 I am going to send the Babylonians, that fierce and reckless nation.