1 aThe oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O Lord, bhow long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you c“Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 dWhy do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction cand violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 eSo the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
fFor the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
The Lord’s Answer
5 g“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
hFor I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, iI am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
jwho march through the breadth of the earth,
kto seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
ltheir justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 mTheir horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than nthe evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
othey fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come pfor violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives rlike sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
sThey laugh at every fortress,
for tthey pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Are you not wfrom everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
xWe shall not die.
O Lord, yyou have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O zRock, have established them for reproof.
13 You who are aof purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
bwhy do you idly look at traitors
and cremain 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 dHe1 brings all of them up ewith a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 fTherefore 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
gand mercilessly killing nations forever?
Messengers from John the Baptist
1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2 eNow when John heard fin prison about the deeds of gthe Christ, he sent word by hhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ithe one who is to come, or shall we jlook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who mis not offended by me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ninto the wilderness to see? oA 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? pA prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
q“‘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 least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13 rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is sElijah who is to come. 15 tHe 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 uneither eating vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, xa friend of ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”6
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20 zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on dthe day of judgment for bTyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 cBut I tell you that git will be more tolerable on dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
25 hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, iLord of heaven and earth, that jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and krevealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your lgracious will.7 27 mAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son nexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 pCome to qme, all who labor and are rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and slearn from me, for I am tgentle and lowly in heart, and uyou will find rest for your souls. 30 For vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
