Habakkuk 3 - Legacy Standard Bible

Habakkuk 3

Yet I Will Exalt in Yahweh

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth. 2

O Yahweh, I have heard the report about You, and I fear.

O Yahweh, revive Your work in the midst of the years;

In the midst of the years make it known;

In rage remember compassion.

God comes from Teman,

And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah.

His splendor covers the heavens,

And the earth is full of His praise.

His brightness is like the sunlight;

He has rays flashing from His hand,

And there is the hiding of His strength.

Before Him goes pestilence,

And plague comes after Him.

He stood and measured out the earth;

He looked and startled the nations.

So the perpetual mountains were shattered;

The ancient hills collapsed.

His ways are everlasting.

I saw the tents of Cushan under wickedness;

The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.

Did Yahweh’s fury burn against the rivers,

Or was Your anger against the rivers,

Or was Your wrath against the sea,

That You rode on Your horses,

On Your chariots of salvation?

Your bow was made bare;

Rods were sworn unto battle by word. Selah.

You split the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw You and writhed;

The downpour of waters passed by.

The deep gave forth its voice;

It lifted high its hands.

Sun and moon stood in their lofty places;

They went away at the light of Your arrows,

At the brightness of Your flashing spear.

In indignation You marched through the earth;

In anger You trampled the nations.

You went forth for the salvation of Your people,

For salvation with Your anointed.

You crushed the head of the house of the wicked

To lay him bare from thigh to neck. Selah.

You pierced with his own sharpened rods

The head of his throngs.

They stormed in to scatter us;

Their exultation was like those

Who devour the afflicted in secret.

You tread on the sea with Your horses,

On the surge of many waters.

I heard, and my inward parts trembled;

At the sound my lips tingled.

Decay enters my bones,

And in my place I tremble.

Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,

For the people to arise who will invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no produce on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields yield no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in Yahweh;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength,

And He has set my feet like hinds’ feet

And makes me tread on my high places.

For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

Acts 26 - 27

Now Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul, stretching out his hand, began to make his defense: 2 “Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I regard myself blessed, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; 3 especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 And now I am standing here being tried for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered unbelievable among all of you if God does raise the dead? 9 “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, practicing deeds appropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and were trying to put me to death. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from God to this day, I stand here bearing witness both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that as first of the resurrection from the dead, He was going to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” 24 Now while Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth. 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know you believe.” 28 But Agrippa replied to Paul, “In such short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” 29 And Paul said, “I would pray to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.” 30 And the king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Paul Is Sent to Rome

Now when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. 2 And getting aboard an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we set sail accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. 4 And from there we set sail and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7 And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; 8 and with difficulty, we sailed past it and came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 9 And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the Fast was already over, Paul began to advise them, 10 and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion was being more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to set sail from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, to spend the winter there. 13 And when a moderate south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along the shore of Crete.

The Storm at Sea

14 But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo; 15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be carried along. 16 And running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. 17 After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship. Fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be carried along. 18 And the next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; 19 and on the third day they cast the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 And since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned. 21 And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice to not set sail from Crete and to avoid this damage and loss. 22 And now I advise you to be cheerful, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, be cheerful, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” 27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them. 28 And when they took soundings, they found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and were praying for daybreak. 30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away. 33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your salvation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” 35 And having said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all. And he broke it and began to eat. 36 And all of them became cheerful and they themselves also took food. 37 And all of us in the ship were 276 persons. 38 And when they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.

The Shipwreck

39 Now when day came, they could not recognize the land; but they were noticing a bay with a beach, and they were resolving to drive the ship onto it if they could. 40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders. And hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. 41 But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. 42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43 but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and ordered that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

Psalm 95

Let Us Kneel Before Yahweh Our Maker

Oh come, let us sing for joy to Yahweh,

Let us make a loud shout to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us make a loud shout to Him with songs of praise.

For Yahweh is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker.

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

“When your fathers tried Me,

They tested Me, though they had seen My work.

For forty years I loathed that generation,

And said they are a people who wander in their heart,

And they do not know My ways.

Therefore I swore in My anger,

They shall never enter into My rest.”