12 Are You not from (A)time everlasting,
Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, Lord, have (B)appointed them to deliver judgment;
And You, O (C)Rock, have destined them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too (D)pure to look at evil,
And You cannot look at harm favorably.
Why do You (E)look favorably
At those who deal (F)treacherously?
Why are You (G)silent when the wicked (H)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made people like the fish of the sea,
Like crawling things that have no ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans (I)bring all of them up with a hook,
(J)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are joyful.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [a]burn incense to their fishing net,
Because through (K)these things their [b]catch is [c]large,
And their food is [d]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their (L)net,
And continually (M)slay nations without sparing?

God Answers the Prophet

I will (N)stand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will (O)keep watch to see (P)what He will say to me,
And how I may reply [e]when I am reprimanded.

Notas al pie

  1. Habakkuk 1:16 Or sacrifice
  2. Habakkuk 1:16 Lit portion
  3. Habakkuk 1:16 Lit fat; or plentiful
  4. Habakkuk 1:16 Lit fat
  5. Habakkuk 2:1 Lit upon my reprimand

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

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.

Notas al pie

  1. Habakkuk 1:12 Hebrew “we shall not die,” considered a deliberate scribal change of the text to avoid offensive language toward Yahweh
  2. Habakkuk 1:12 Hebrew “him”
  3. Habakkuk 1:12 Hebrew “him”
  4. Habakkuk 1:13 Or “trouble”
  5. Habakkuk 1:16 Literally “his portion is fat”