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 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 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 3:17-19
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.
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