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Habakkuk 1:1-7
Contemporary English Version
Habakkuk 1:1-7
Contemporary English Version
1 I am Habakkuk the prophet. And this is the message[a] that the Lord gave me.
Habakkuk Complains to the Lord
2 Our Lord, how long must I beg
for your help
before you listen?
How long before you save us
from all this violence?
3 Why do you make me watch
such terrible injustice?
Why do you allow violence,
lawlessness, crime, and cruelty
to spread everywhere?
4 Laws cannot be enforced;
justice is always the loser;
criminals crowd out honest people
and twist the laws around.
The Lord Answers Habakkuk
5 (A) Look and be amazed
at what's happening
among the nations!
Even if you were told,
you would never believe
what's taking place now.
6 (B) I am sending the Babylonians.
They are fierce and cruel—
marching across the land,
conquering cities and towns.
7 How fearsome and frightening.
Their only laws and rules
are the ones they make up.
Footnotes
- 1.1 message: Or “vision.”
Habakkuk 1:1-7
New International Version
Habakkuk 1:1-7
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.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
Habakkuk 2:1-4
Contemporary English Version
Habakkuk 2:1-4
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Answers Habakkuk Again
2 While standing guard
on the watchtower,
I waited for the Lord's answer,
before explaining the reason
for my complaint.[a]
2 Then the Lord told me:
“I will give you my message
in the form of a vision.
Write it clearly enough
to be read at a glance.
3 (A) At the time I have decided,
my words will come true.
You can trust what I say
about the future.
It may take a long time,
but keep on waiting—
it will happen!
4 (B) “I, the Lord, refuse to accept
anyone who is proud.
Only those who live by faith
are acceptable to me.”[b]
Habakkuk 2:1-4
New International Version
Habakkuk 2:1-4
New International Version
2 I will stand at my watch(A)
and station myself on the ramparts;(B)
I will look to see what he will say(C) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a](D)
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
Footnotes
- 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 3:3-6
Contemporary English Version
Habakkuk 3:3-6
Contemporary English Version
3 You are the same Holy God
who came from Teman
and Paran[a] to help us.
The brightness of your glory
covered the heavens,
and your praises were heard
everywhere on earth.
4 Your glory shone like the sun,
and light flashed from your hands,
hiding your mighty power.
5 Dreadful diseases and plagues
marched in front
and followed behind.
6 When you stopped,
the earth shook;
when you stared,
nations trembled;
when you walked
along your ancient paths,
eternal mountains and hills
crumbled and collapsed.
Footnotes
- 3.3 Teman … Paran: Teman is a district in Edom, but the name is sometimes used of the whole country of Edom; Paran is the hill country along the western border of the Gulf of Aqaba. In Judges 5.4, the Lord is said to have marched from Edom to help his people; in Deuteronomy 33.2, Paran is mentioned in connection with the Lord's appearance at Sinai.
Habakkuk 3:3-6
New International Version
Habakkuk 3:3-6
New International Version
3 God came from Teman,(A)
the Holy One(B) from Mount Paran.[a](C)
His glory covered the heavens(D)
and his praise filled the earth.(E)
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;(F)
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power(G) was hidden.
5 Plague(H) 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(I)
and the age-old hills(J) collapsed(K)—
but he marches on forever.(L)
Footnotes
- 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.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
Contemporary English Version
Habakkuk 3:17-19
Contemporary English Version
Trust in a Time of Trouble
17 Fig trees may no longer bloom,
or vineyards produce grapes;
olive trees may be fruitless,
and harvest time a failure;
sheep pens may be empty,
and cattle stalls vacant—
18 but I will still celebrate
because the Lord God
is my Savior.
19 (A) The Lord gives me strength.
He makes my feet as sure
as those of a deer,
and he helps me stand
on the mountains.[a]
To the music director:
Use stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- 3.19 stand on the mountains: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
New International Version
Habakkuk 3:17-19
New International Version
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,(A)
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,(B)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,(C)
I will be joyful in God my Savior.(D)
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;(E)
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.(F)
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.