Habakkuk 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Habakkuk Calls for Help
1 The [a](A)oracle which Habakkuk the prophet beheld.
2 (B)How long, O [b]Yahweh, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do (C)not save.
3 Why do You make me (D)see wickedness
And cause me to look on trouble?
Indeed, (E)devastation and violence are before me;
(F)And there is strife, and contention is lifted up.
4 Therefore the (G)law is [c]ignored,
And justice never comes forth.
For the wicked (H)surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes forth (I)perverted.
Yahweh Raises the Dreaded Chaldeans
5 “(J)See among the nations! And look!
Be also astonished! (K)Be astounded!
Because I am doing (L)something in your days—
You would not believe if it was recounted to you.
6 For behold, I am (M)raising up the Chaldeans,
That bitter and hasty nation
Who walks on the breadth of the land
To (N)possess dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 They are dreaded and (O)feared;
Their (P)justice and exaltation come forth from themselves.
8 Their (Q)horses are swifter than leopards
And [d]sharper than (R)wolves in the evening.
Their [e]horsemen come galloping;
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an (S)eagle swooping down to devour.
9 All of them come for violence.
[f]Their horde of (T)faces moves forward.
And they gather captives like sand.
10 And they (U)mock at kings,
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They (V)laugh at every fortress
And (W)heap up dirt and capture it.
11 Then they will sweep through like the (X)wind and pass on.
But they will be held (Y)guilty,
They whose (Z)power is their god.”
Yahweh Has Placed Them to Judge
12 Are You not from (AA)everlasting,
O Yahweh, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, O Yahweh, have (AB)placed them to judge;
And You, O (AC)Rock, have established them to reprove.
13 Your eyes are too (AD)pure to see evil,
And You cannot look on trouble.
Why do You (AE)look
On those who deal (AF)treacherously?
Why are You (AG)silent when the wicked (AH)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 And You have made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them.
15 The Chaldeans (AI)bring all of them up with a hook,
(AJ)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they are glad and rejoice.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [g]burn incense to their fishing net
Because through (AK)these things their portion is rich
And their food is fat.
17 Will they therefore empty their (AL)net
And continually (AM)kill nations without sparing?
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:1 Or burden
- Habakkuk 1:2 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Habakkuk 1:4 Or ineffective; lit numbed
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or more eager to attack
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or steeds paw the ground
- Habakkuk 1:9 Or The eagerness of their faces
- Habakkuk 1:16 Or sacrifice
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
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