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
Common English Bible
The prophet questions the Lord
12 Lord, aren’t you ancient, my God, my holy one?
Don’t let us die.[a]
Lord, you put the Chaldean here for judgment.
Rock, you established him as a rebuke.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you are unable to look at disaster.
Why would you look at the treacherous
or keep silent when the wicked swallows one who is more righteous?
14 You made humans like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things with no one to rule over them.
15 The Chaldean brings all of them up with a fishhook.
He drags them away with a net;
he collects them in his fishing net,
then he rejoices and celebrates.
16 Therefore, he sacrifices to his net;
he burns incense to his fishing nets,
because due to them his portion grows fat
and his food becomes luxurious.
17 Should he continue to empty his net
and continue to slay nations without sparing them?
2 I will take my post;
I will position myself on the fortress.
I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
and how he[b] will respond to my complaint.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:12 Heb uncertain
- Habakkuk 2:1 Syr he; MT I
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