Habakkuk 1
New King James Version
The Prophet Questions God’s Judgments
1 The [a]burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Question
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
(A)And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, (B)“Violence!”
And You will (C)not save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see [b]trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the (D)wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5 “Look(E) among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am (F)raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty (G)nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also are (H)swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their [c]chargers [d]charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the (I)eagle that hastens to eat.
9 “They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his [e]mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
(J)Ascribing this power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
12 Are You not (K)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, (L)You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for (M)correction.
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore (N)they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is [f]sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:1 oracle, prophecy
- Habakkuk 1:3 Or toil
- Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. horsemen
- Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. spring about
- Habakkuk 1:11 Lit. spirit or wind
- Habakkuk 1:16 Lit. fat
Habakkuk 1
English Standard Version
1 (A)The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk's Complaint
2 O Lord, (B)how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you (C)“Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 (D)Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction (E)and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 (F)So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
(G)For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
The Lord's Answer
5 (H)“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
(I)For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, (J)I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
(K)who march through the breadth of the earth,
(L)to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
(M)their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 (N)Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than (O)the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
(P)they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come (Q)for violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives (R)like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
(S)They laugh at every fortress,
for (T)they pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
(U)guilty men, (V)whose own might is their god!”
Habakkuk's Second Complaint
12 Are you not (W)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
(X)We shall not die.
O Lord, (Y)you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O (Z)Rock, have established them for reproof.
13 You who are (AA)of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
(AB)why do you idly look at traitors
and (AC)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 (AD)He[a] brings all of them up (AE)with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 (AF)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
(AG)and mercilessly killing nations forever?
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:15 That is, the wicked foe
- Habakkuk 1:16 Hebrew his portion is fat
哈巴谷书 1
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
先知首次疑問
1 哈巴谷先知所得的默示。
2 耶和華啊！
我懇求，你不垂聽，
要到幾時呢？
我向你呼叫“有狂暴的事”，你卻不拯救。
3 你為甚麼使我看見惡行？
有奸惡的事，你為甚麼見而不理？
毀滅和強暴在我面前，
紛爭和相鬥常常發生。
4 因此律法不能生效（“律法不能生效”原文作“律法鬆懈”），
公理無法彰顯。
因為惡人把義人包圍，所以公理顛倒。
耶和華的回答
5 你們當看列國，要定睛觀看，就會大大驚奇，
因為在你們的日子，我要作一件事，
即使有人說了出來，你們也不會相信。
6 就是要興起迦勒底人，那殘忍兇暴的民；
他們遍行全地，佔領別人的家園。
7 他們恐怖可怕，自以為義，趾高氣揚。
8 他們的馬比豹更快，比晚上的豺狼更猛。
他們的騎兵奔馳，自遠而來；
他們如鷹飛翔，迅速吞噬。
9 他們定著臉面向前，齊來行暴，
擄獲戰俘多如塵沙。
10 他們戲弄君王，以掌權的為笑柄；
他們嗤笑一切城堡，築壘攻取；
11 然後掃蕩如風吹過。
他們是有罪的，因他們以自己的勢力為神。
先知第二次的疑問
12 耶和華我的 神，我的聖者啊！
你不是自古就有的嗎？我們不會死的。
耶和華啊！你派他們行審判。
磐石啊！你立他們施懲罰。
13 你的眼目純潔，不看邪惡，
不能坐視奸惡；
為甚麼見行詭詐的人而不理？
惡人吞滅比自己公義的人，你為甚麼緘默呢？
14 你竟使人像海裡的魚，
像無人管轄的爬行的動物。
15 迦勒底人既用鈎把他們釣起來，用網拖走，
用魚網收聚在一處，就歡喜快樂，
16 向自己的網獻祭，對魚網燒香，
因他們藉此收穫豐富，飲食充裕。
17 這樣，他們倒空自己的網，
毫不留情地繼續殺戮列國。
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
