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
and You do not save?
Why do You force me to look at injustice?(C)
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(D) the righteous;
therefore, justice(E) comes out perverted.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:3 Lit observe

The prophet complains

Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
        I cry out to you, “Violence!”
            but you don’t deliver us.
Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
        so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
        The Instruction is ineffective.
            Justice does not endure
            because the wicked surround the righteous.
        Justice becomes warped.

Read full chapter