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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?(A)
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing
and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.(B)
4 So the law becomes slack,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous;
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.(C)
5 Look at the nations and see!
Be astonished! Be astounded!
For a work is being done in your days
that you would not believe if you were told.(D)
6 For I am rousing the Chaldeans,
that fierce and impetuous nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth
to seize dwellings not their own.(E)
7 Dread and fearsome are they;
their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.(F)
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more menacing than wolves at dusk;
their horses charge.
Their horsemen come from far away;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.(G)
9 They all come for violence,
with faces pressing[a] forward;
they gather captives like sand.(H)
10 At kings they scoff,
and of rulers they make sport.
They laugh at every fortress
and heap up earth to take it.(I)
11 Then they sweep by like the wind;
they transgress and become guilty;
their own might is their god!(J)
12 Are you not from of old,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You[b] shall not die.
O Lord, you have marked them for judgment,
and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.(K)
13 Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,
and you cannot look on wrongdoing;
why do you look on the treacherous
and are silent when the wicked swallow
those more righteous than they?(L)
14 You have made people like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.(M)
15 He brings all of them up with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his seine,
so he rejoices and exults.(N)
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his seine,
for by them his portion is lavish,
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net
and destroying nations without mercy?(O)
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