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)
Habakkuk 1
Christian Standard Bible
1 The pronouncement(A) that the prophet Habakkuk saw.(B)
Habakkuk’s First Prayer
2 How long,(C) Lord, must I call for help(D)
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence(E)
and you do not save?
3 Why do you force me to look at injustice?(F)
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(G) the righteous;
therefore, justice(H) comes out perverted.
God’s First Answer
5 Look at the nations[b](I) and observe(J)—
be utterly astounded!(K)
For I am doing something in your days
that you will not believe(L)
when you hear about it.(M)
6 Look! I am raising up(N) the Chaldeans,[c]
that bitter,(O) impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce(P) and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter(Q) than leopards(R)
and more fierce[d] than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like eagles, swooping to devour.(S)
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces(T) are set in determination.[e]
They gather(U) prisoners like sand.(V)
10 They mock(W) kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh(X) at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture(Y) it.
11 Then they sweep(Z) 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, Lord my God?(AA)
My Holy One,(AB) you[g] will not die.
Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock,(AC) you destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes(AD) are too pure(AE) to look on evil,
and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous?(AF)
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,(AG)
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,(AH)
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.(AI)
17 Will they therefore empty their net
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.