Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
Evangelical Heritage Version
Habakkuk Replies
12 Are you not from ancient times, O Lord?
My God, my Holy One, you will not die.[a]
Lord, you have made them your instrument of judgment.
You, our Rock, have established them as your instrument of discipline.[b]
13 You whose eyes are too pure to tolerate evil,
you who are not able to condone wrongdoing,
why do you put up with treacherous people?
Why do you keep silent when the wicked swallow up those who are more righteous than they are?
14 You treat people like fish in the sea,
like creeping creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked man[c] pulls them all up on a fishhook.
He hauls them in with a net.
He gathers them with his dragnet and is very happy about it.
16 Therefore he offers sacrifices to his nets
and burns incense to his dragnet,
because, through these, his catch is large,
and his food is plentiful.
17 Will he empty one net after another
and continue to destroy nations without sparing any?
2 I will stand at my watch post and station myself on the city wall. I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint.[d]
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:12 The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading, known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads we will not die, likely because scribes did not want to mention death and God in the same sentence.
- Habakkuk 1:12 In this verse it is uncertain whether the Lord made the Babylonians recipients of judgment because of their godlessness or whether he made them instruments of judgment against Israel. The translation follows the second option.
- Habakkuk 1:15 The subject the wicked man is supplied for clarity.
- Habakkuk 2:1 The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads what answer to give when I am rebuked, likely because scribes considered Habakkuk to be impudent by demanding an answer from the Lord. The alternate reading is also supported by the Syriac and the parallelism with the preceding line.
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
Lexham English Bible
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Are you not from of old,
O Yahweh my God, my Holy One?
You[a] shall not die.
O Yahweh, you have marked them[b] for judgment;
O Rock, you have established them[c] for reproof.
13 Your eyes are too pure to see evil,
and you are not able to look at wrongdoing.[d]
Why do you look at the treacherous?
Why are you silent when the wicked swallows up
someone more righteous than him?
14 You make humankind like fish of the sea,
like crawling creatures that have no ruler among them.
15 He brings up all of them with a fishhook;
he drags them up with a fishnet;
he gathers them in his dragnet.
Therefore, he rejoices and exults.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his fishnet
and makes offerings to his dragnet,
for by them he makes a good living[e]
and his food is rich.
17 Will he therefore empty his fishnet
and continually kill nations without showing mercy?
The Righteous Will Live by Faith
2 I will stand at my post,
and station myself on the rampart.
And I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:12 Hebrew “we shall not die,” considered a deliberate scribal change of the text to avoid offensive language toward Yahweh
- Habakkuk 1:12 Hebrew “him”
- Habakkuk 1:12 Hebrew “him”
- Habakkuk 1:13 Or “trouble”
- Habakkuk 1:16 Literally “his portion is fat”
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