Habakkuk 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.(A)
Habakkuk’s First Prayer
2 How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help(C)
and You do not listen
or cry out to You about violence
and You do not save?
3 Why do You force me to look at injustice?(D)
Why do You tolerate[a] wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict(E) the righteous;
therefore, justice(F) comes out perverted.
God’s First Answer
5 Look at the nations[b](G) and observe(H)—
be utterly astounded!(I)
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believe(J)
when you hear about it.(K)
6 Look! I am raising up(L) the Chaldeans,[c]
that bitter,(M) impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce(N) and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter(O) than leopards(P)
and more fierce[d] than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.(Q)
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces(R) are set in determination.[e]
They gather(S) prisoners like sand.(T)
10 They mock(U) kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh(V) at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture(W) it.
11 Then they sweep(X) by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty;[f] their strength is their god.
Habakkuk’s Second Prayer
12 Are You not from eternity, Yahweh my God?
My Holy One,(Y) You[g] will not die.
Lord, You appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock,(Z) You destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes(AA) are too pure(AB) to look on evil,
and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous?(AC)
Why are You silent
while one[h] who is wicked swallows up
one[i] who is more righteous than himself?
14 You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea,(AD)
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,(AE)
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
16 That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet
and burn incense to their fishing net,
for by these things their portion is rich
and their food plentiful.(AF)
17 Will they therefore empty their net[j]
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:3 Lit observe
- Habakkuk 1:5 DSS, LXX, Syr read Look, you treacherous people
- Habakkuk 1:6 = the Babylonians
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or and quicker
- Habakkuk 1:9 Hb obscure
- Habakkuk 1:11 Or wind, and transgress and incur guilt
- Habakkuk 1:12 Ancient Jewish tradition reads we
- Habakkuk 1:13 = Babylon
- Habakkuk 1:13 = Judah
- Habakkuk 1:17 DSS read sword
Habakkuk 1
Common English Bible
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
The prophet complains
2 Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you don’t deliver us.
3 Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 The Instruction is ineffective.
Justice does not endure
because the wicked surround the righteous.
Justice becomes warped.
The Lord responds
5 Look among the nations and watch!
Be astonished and stare
because something is happening in your days
that you wouldn’t believe even if told.
6 I am about to rouse the Chaldeans,
that bitter and impetuous nation,
which travels throughout the earth to possess dwelling places it does not own.
7 The Chaldean is dreadful and fearful.
He makes his own justice and dignity.[a]
8 His horses are faster than leopards;
they are quicker than wolves of the evening.
His horsemen charge forward;
his horsemen come from far away.
They fly in to devour, swiftly, like an eagle.[b]
9 They come for violence,
the horde with all their faces set toward the desert.[c]
He takes captives like sand.
10 He makes fun of kings;
rulers are ridiculous to him.
He laughs at every fortress,
then he piles up dirt and takes it.
11 He passes through like the wind and invades;
but he will be held guilty,
the one whose strength is his god.
The prophet questions the Lord
12 Lord, aren’t you ancient, my God, my holy one?
Don’t let us die.[d]
Lord, you put the Chaldean here for judgment.
Rock, you established him as a rebuke.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you are unable to look at disaster.
Why would you look at the treacherous
or keep silent when the wicked swallows one who is more righteous?
14 You made humans like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things with no one to rule over them.
15 The Chaldean brings all of them up with a fishhook.
He drags them away with a net;
he collects them in his fishing net,
then he rejoices and celebrates.
16 Therefore, he sacrifices to his net;
he burns incense to his fishing nets,
because due to them his portion grows fat
and his food becomes luxurious.
17 Should he continue to empty his net
and continue to slay nations without sparing them?
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:7 Or his justice and dignity come from him
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or vulture
- Habakkuk 1:9 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 1:12 Heb uncertain
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