Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Habakkuk’s Second Prayer
12 Are You not from eternity, Yahweh my God?
My Holy One,(A) You[a] will not die.
Lord, You appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock,(B) You destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes(C) are too pure(D) to look on evil,
and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous?(E)
Why are You silent
while one[b] who is wicked swallows up
one[c] who is more righteous than himself?
14 You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea,(F)
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,(G)
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.(H)
17 Will they therefore empty their net[d]
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?
Habakkuk Waits for God’s Response
2 I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on the lookout tower.(I)
I will watch to see what He will say to me(J)
and what I should[e] reply about my complaint.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:12 Ancient Jewish tradition reads we
- Habakkuk 1:13 = Babylon
- Habakkuk 1:13 = Judah
- Habakkuk 1:17 DSS read sword
- Habakkuk 2:1 Syr reads what He will
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
New Living Translation
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—
surely you do not plan to wipe us out?
O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us,
to punish us for our many sins.
13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil.
Will you wink at their treachery?
Should you be silent while the wicked
swallow up people more righteous than they?
14 Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?
15 Must we be strung up on their hooks
and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?
16 Then they will worship their nets
and burn incense in front of them.
“These nets are the gods who have made us rich!”
they will claim.
17 Will you let them get away with this forever?
Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?
2 I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he[a] will answer my complaint.
Footnotes
- 2:1 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads I.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
