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Habakkuk 1-3
The Message
Habakkuk 1-3
The Message
Justice Is a Joke
1 1-4 The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it:
God, how long do I have to cry out for help
before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!”
before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
and stand justice on its head.
God Says, “Look!”
5-11 “Look around at the godless nations.
Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something’s about to take place
and you’re going to find it hard to believe.
I’m about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
circling in on carrion.
They’re out to kill. Death is on their minds.
They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
and leave them in the dust.
They’ll all be blown away by the wind.
Brazen in sin, they call strength their god.”
Why Is God Silent Now?
12-13 God, you’re from eternity, aren’t you?
Holy God, we aren’t going to die, are we?
God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work?
Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline?
But you can’t be serious!
You can’t condone evil!
So why don’t you do something about this?
Why are you silent now?
This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous
and you stand around and watch!
* * *
14-16 You’re treating men and women
as so many fish in the ocean,
Swimming without direction,
swimming but not getting anywhere.
Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing.
He pulls in a good catch.
He catches his limit and fills his bucket—
a good day of fishing! He’s happy!
He praises his rod and reel,
piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it!
It’s made his day,
and he’s going to eat well tonight!
* * *
17 Are you going to let this go on and on?
Will you let this Babylonian fisherman
Fish like a weekend angler,
killing people as if they’re nothing but fish?
* * *
2 What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst.
I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I’ll wait to see what God says,
how he’ll answer my complaint.
Full of Self, but Soul-Empty
2-3 And then God answered: “Write this.
Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
pointing to what’s coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
And it doesn’t lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
It’s on its way. It will come right on time.
* * *
4 “Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
through loyal and steady believing
is fully alive, really alive.
5-6 “Note well: Money deceives.
The arrogant rich don’t last.
They are more hungry for wealth
than the grave is for cadavers.
Like death, they always want more,
but the ‘more’ they get is dead bodies.
They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,
graveyards filled with corpses.
Don’t give people like this a second thought.
Soon the whole world will be taunting them:
6-8 “‘Who do you think you are—
getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
you can get away with this?’
Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,
stand up and make you the victim?
You’ve plundered nation after nation.
Now you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.
All the survivors are out to plunder you,
a payback for all your murders and massacres.
9-11 “Who do you think you are—
recklessly grabbing and looting,
Living it up, acting like king of the mountain,
acting above it all, above trials and troubles?
You’ve engineered the ruin of your own house.
In ruining others you’ve ruined yourself.
You’ve undermined your foundations,
rotted out your own soul.
The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.
The woodwork will step forward with evidence.
12-14 “Who do you think you are—
building a town by murder, a city with crime?
Don’t you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes,
Makes sure the harder you work
at that kind of thing, the less you are?
Meanwhile the earth fills up
with awareness of God’s glory
as the waters cover the sea.
15-17 “Who do you think you are—
inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties,
Giving them too much to drink,
roping them into your sexual orgies?
You thought you were having the time of your life.
Wrong! It’s a time of disgrace.
All the time you were drinking,
you were drinking from the cup of God’s wrath.
You’ll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—
hung over from Lebanon violence,
Hung over from animal massacres,
hung over from murder and mayhem,
From multiple violations
of place and people.
18-19 “What’s the use of a carved god
so skillfully carved by its sculptor?
What good is a fancy cast god
when all it tells is lies?
What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker
who makes gods that can’t even talk?
Who do you think you are—
saying to a stick of wood, ‘Wake up,’
Or to a dumb stone, ‘Get up’?
Can they teach you anything about anything?
There’s nothing to them but surface.
There’s nothing on the inside.
20 “But oh! God is in his holy Temple!
Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!”
God Racing on the Crest of the Waves
3 1-2 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra:
God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you,
and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
remember mercy.
* * *
3-7 God’s on his way again,
retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
hoping he wouldn’t notice them.
* * *
8-16 God, is it River you’re mad at?
Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
and let loose a volley of arrows.
You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
Your flashing arrows stopped them,
your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
to descend on our attackers.
* * *
17-19 Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
I feel like I’m king of the mountain!
(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)
Habakkuk 1-3
New International Version
Habakkuk 1-3
New International Version
1 The prophecy(A) that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?(C)
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?(D)
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate(E) wrongdoing?(F)
Destruction and violence(G) are before me;
there is strife,(H) and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law(I) is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice(J) is perverted.(K)
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.(L)
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.(M)
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](N)
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(O)
to seize dwellings not their own.(P)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;(Q)
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter(R) than leopards,
fiercer than wolves(S) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners(T) like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.(U)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps(V) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(W) and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(X)
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(Y)
My God, my Holy One,(Z) you[c] will never die.(AA)
You, Lord, have appointed(AB) them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,(AC) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(AD) to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(AE)
Why then do you tolerate(AF) the treacherous?(AG)
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(AH)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(AI) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(AJ)
he catches them in his net,(AK)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense(AL) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?(AM)
2 I will stand at my watch(AN)
and station myself on the ramparts;(AO)
I will look to see what he will say(AP) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[d](AQ)
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write(AR) down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[e] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;(AS)
it speaks of the end(AT)
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait(AU) for it;
it[f] will certainly come
and will not delay.(AV)
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person(AW) will live by his faithfulness[g](AX)—
5 indeed, wine(AY) betrays him;
he is arrogant(AZ) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,(BA)
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive(BB) all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt(BC) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(BD)
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.(BE)
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.(BF)
For you have shed human blood;(BG)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(BH)
9 “Woe to him who builds(BI) his house by unjust gain,(BJ)
setting his nest(BK) on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin(BL) of many peoples,
shaming(BM) your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones(BN) of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed(BO)
and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,(BP)
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?(BQ)
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory(BR) of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.(BS)
15 “Woe to him who gives drink(BT) to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame(BU) instead of glory.(BV)
Now it is your turn! Drink(BW) and let your nakedness be exposed[h]!(BX)
The cup(BY) from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence(BZ) you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.(CA)
For you have shed human blood;(CB)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value(CC) is an idol(CD) carved by a craftsman?
Or an image(CE) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.(CF)
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’(CG)
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;(CH)
there is no breath in it.”(CI)
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.[i](CL)
2 Lord, I have heard(CM) of your fame;
I stand in awe(CN) of your deeds, Lord.(CO)
Repeat(CP) them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.(CQ)
3 God came from Teman,(CR)
the Holy One(CS) from Mount Paran.[j](CT)
His glory covered the heavens(CU)
and his praise filled the earth.(CV)
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;(CW)
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power(CX) was hidden.
5 Plague(CY) went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled(CZ)
and the age-old hills(DA) collapsed(DB)—
but he marches on forever.(DC)
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midian(DD) in anguish.(DE)
8 Were you angry with the rivers,(DF) Lord?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea(DG)
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?(DH)
9 You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.(DI)
You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed.(DJ)
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared(DK)
and lifted its waves(DL) on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still(DM) in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,(DN)
at the lightning(DO) of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed(DP) the nations.
13 You came out(DQ) to deliver(DR) your people,
to save your anointed(DS) one.
You crushed(DT) the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,(DU)
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched(DV) who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea(DW) with your horses,
churning the great waters.(DX)
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.(DY)
Yet I will wait patiently(DZ) for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,(EA)
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,(EB)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,(EC)
I will be joyful in God my Savior.(ED)
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;(EE)
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.(EF)
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
- Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we
- Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
- Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith
- Habakkuk 2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagger
- Habakkuk 3:1 Probably a literary or musical term
- Habakkuk 3:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the middle of verse 9 and at the end of verse 13.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.