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Habakkuk 1:12-2:3
English Standard Version
Habakkuk 1:12-2:3
English Standard Version
Habakkuk's Second Complaint
12 Are you not (A)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
(B)We shall not die.
O Lord, (C)you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O (D)Rock, have established them for reproof.
13 You who are (E)of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
(F)why do you idly look at traitors
and (G)remain 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 (H)He[a] brings all of them up (I)with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 (J)Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury,[b]
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net
(K)and mercilessly killing nations forever?
2 I will (L)take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and (M)look out to see (N)what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
(O)“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still (P)the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (Q)wait for it;
(R)it will surely come; it will not delay.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:15 That is, the wicked foe
- Habakkuk 1:16 Hebrew his portion is fat
Habakkuk 1:12-2:3
New International Version
Habakkuk 1:12-2:3
New International Version
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(A)
My God, my Holy One,(B) you[a] will never die.(C)
You, Lord, have appointed(D) them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,(E) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(F) to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(G)
Why then do you tolerate(H) the treacherous?(I)
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(J)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(K) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(L)
he catches them in his net,(M)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense(N) 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?(O)
2 I will stand at my watch(P)
and station myself on the ramparts;(Q)
I will look to see what he will say(R) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[b](S)
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
Footnotes
- 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
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.