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Yahweh,[a] how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save? Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:2 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.

Habakkuk’s First Prayer

How long,(A) Lord, must I call for help(B)
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence(C)
and you do not save?
Why do you force me to look at injustice?(D)
Why do you tolerate[a] wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict(E) the righteous;
therefore, justice(F) comes out perverted.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:3 Lit observe, also in v. 13