Habakkuk 1
Modern English Version
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
and You will not hear?
Or cry to You, “Violence!”
and You will not save?
3 Why do You make me see wickedness,
and cause me to see trouble?
Plundering and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
therefore injustice proceeds.
The Lord’s Answer
5 Look among the nations, and watch—
wonder and be amazed!
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe,
though it were told you.
6 For I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation
which marches through the breadth of the earth,
to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
their justice and their dignity
proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than evening wolves.
Their horsemen charge on;
their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like the eagle that hastens to eat.
9 They all come for violence;
their forces advance like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
and they scorn rulers.
They deride every stronghold,
for they build up siege ramps to capture it.
11 Then their mind changes,
and they transgress and commit offense;
their own power is their god.
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One? We will not die.
O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment;
and You, O Rock, have established them for correction.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,
and You cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
and hold Your tongue when the wicked
devours the man who is more righteous than he?
14 You make men like fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 They bring all of them up with a hook,
they catch them in their net;
they gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net
and burn incense to their dragnet;
for by them their portion is extravagant,
and their food plentiful.
17 Shall they continue to empty their net,
and continually kill the nations while not sparing anyone?
Habakkuk 1
21st Century King James Version
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear? Even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save?
3 Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For despoiling and violence are before me, and there are those that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth. For the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5 “Behold ye among the heathen and regard, and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
6 For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the vulture that hasteneth to eat.
9 They shall come all for violence; their faces shall consume as the east wind, and they shall gather the captives as the sand.
10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them. They shall deride every stronghold, for they shall heap up dirt and take it.
11 Then shall his mind change; and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.”
12 Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, Thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, Thou hast established them for correction.
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Why lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with the hook; they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag, because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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