Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
12 Are you not from of old,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You[a] shall not die.
O Lord, you have marked them for judgment,
and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.(A)
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?(B)
14 You have made people like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.(C)
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.(D)
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?(E)
God’s Reply to the Prophet’s Complaint
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
International Standard Version
The Prophet’s Second Complaint
12 “Haven’t you existed forever,
Lord my God, my Holy One?
We won’t die!
Lord, you’ve prepared them[a] for judgment;
Rock, you’ve sentenced them[b] to correction.
13 Your eyes are too pure to gaze upon evil;
and you cannot tolerate wickedness.
So why do you tolerate the treacherous?
And why do you stay silent
while the wicked devour those who are more righteous than they are?
14 “You have fashioned mankind like fish in the ocean,
like creeping things that have no ruler.
15 The adversary[c] captures them with a hook,
gathering them up in a fishing net.
He collects them with a dragnet,
rejoicing and gloating over his catch.[d]
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his fishing net,
and burns incense in the presence of his dragnet,
because by them his assets increase
and he gets plenty of food.
17 Is he to continue to empty his fishing net?
Will he ever stop killing entire[e] nations without mercy?”
Habakkuk Waits for God’s Answer
2 “I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on a tower.
I will wait and see what the Lord[f] will say about me
and what I[g] will answer when he reprimands me.[h]”
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:12 I.e. the Babylonian invaders
- Habakkuk 1:12 I.e. the Babylonian invaders
- Habakkuk 1:15 I.e. the Babylonian invaders
- Habakkuk 1:15 The Heb. lacks over his catch
- Habakkuk 1:17 The Heb. lacks entire
- Habakkuk 2:1 The Heb. lacks the Lord
- Habakkuk 2:1 Syr he
- Habakkuk 2:1 Lit. answer at my reprimand
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