Beginning

1 The burden which Chabakuk HaNavi did see.

² Until when, Hashem, must I cry for help, and Thou wilt not hear? Even cry out unto Thee, Chamas (violence!), and Thou wilt not save?

³ Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold trouble? For plundering and chamas are before me; and there are those that raise up strife and contention.

⁴ Therefore the torah is slacked, and mishpat (judgment) doth never prevail; for the rasha doth hem in the tzadik; therefore mishpat (justice) proceedeth perverted.

⁵ [Hashem says:] Behold ye the Goyim, and regard, and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your yamim which, though it be told you, of it ye will have no emunah (faith).

⁶ For, hineni, I raise up the Kasdim (Chaldeans), that Goy bitter and impetuous, which shall march far and wide over the earth, to confiscate the mishkanot (dwelling places) that are not their own.

⁷ They are terrible and dreadful; their mishpat and their dignity shall proceed from themselves.

⁸ Their susim also are swifter than the leopards, keener than the evening wolves; and their parash (cavalry) shall charge ahead, and their parash shall come from afar; they shall fly as the nesher (eagle), swooping to devour.

⁹ They shall come all for chamas; the swarm of their faces is directed forward, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

¹⁰ And they shall scoff at the melachim, and the roznim (dignitaries) shall be a scorn unto them; they shall laugh at every stronghold; for they shall heap dirt (earthen ramps), and take it.

¹¹ Then they sweep on like the ruach (wind), guilty men whose g-d is his own koach.

¹² Art thou not mikedem (from everlasting, [T.N. Also said of Moshiach, indicating Moshiach’s coeternal divine nature: see Michoh 5:1[2]; see Dan 7:13-14; 3:12), Hashem Elohai (my G-d) Kedoshi (my Holy One)? We shall not die. Hashem, Thou hast appointed them for mishpat; O Tzur, Thou hast ordained them for reproof.

¹³ Thou art of eyes of tehor (pureness), not to behold rah, and canst not look on wickedness; why lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the rasha devoureth the tzaddik, the man that is more righteous than he?

¹⁴ And makest adam as the dagim of the yam, as the creeping things, that have no moshel over them?

¹⁵ They take up all of them with a khakkah (hook), they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet; therefore they have simcha (joy) and are glad.

¹⁶ Therefore they make zevakhim (sacrifices) unto their net, and burn incense unto their dragnet; because by them their portion is sumptuous, and their food plenteous.

¹⁷ Shall they therefore empty their net, and without mercy continually slay the Goyim?

2 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the matzor (rampart), and will watch to see what Hashem will speak in me, and what He shall answer to my tokhakhah (complaint).

² And Hashem answered me, and said, Write the chazon, and make it plain upon tablets, so that a herald may run with it.

³ For the chazon is yet for a mo’ed (an appointed time); it speaks of HaKetz (the End), and does not lie; though it tarry, wait for him [Moshiach— see Sanhedrin 97b]; because he will surely come, and will not tarry.

⁴ Hinei, his nashamah which is puffed up is not upright in him; but the tzaddik shall live by his emunah. [Bereshis 15:6]

⁵ Yea also, yayin is a boged (betrayer, treacherous); he is a proud man, never at rest, who enlargeth his appetite as Sheol; like Mavet, it cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto it kol HaGoyim, and collecteth unto it kol HaAmim;

⁶ Shall not all these take up a mashal against such, with mocking poem riddles against him, and say, Hoy (Woe) to him that increaseth that which is not his! For how long? And to him that loadeth himself by the weight of pledges (i.e., heaps up by borrowing)!

⁷ Shall not thy biters (charging neshekh) arise suddenly and awake that shall oppress thee, and thou shalt be for plunder unto them?

⁸ Because thou hast plundered many Goyim, all the remnant of the Amim shall plunder thee; because of [shefach] dahm, and for the chamas eretz, the city, and of all that dwell therein.

⁹ Hoy (Woe) to him that coveteth an evil gain for his bais, that he may set his ken (nest) on high, that he may be delivered from the power of ruin!

¹⁰ Thy counsel hast brought shame to thy bais by cutting off amim rabbim and hast sinned against thy nashamah.

¹¹ For the even (stone) shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

¹² Hoy (Woe) to him that buildeth a town with [shefach] dahm, and foundeth a city by iniquity!

¹³ Hinei, is it not from Hashem Tzva’os that the people shall labor only to feed the eish, and the people shall weary themselves in vain?

¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled with the da’as of the kavod Hashem, as the waters cover the yam.

¹⁵ Hoy (Woe) unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, pressing thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

¹⁶ Thou art filled with shame instead of kavod; drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered; the kos of Hashem’s right hand shall be turned against thee, and utter shame shall be on thy kavod.

¹⁷ For the chamas of the Levanon shall cover thee, and the decimation of animals, by which you terrorized them, because of [shefach] dahm, and for the chamas eretz, and to the city, and all that dwell therein.

¹⁸ What profiteth the pesel (graven image) that the maker thereof hath shaped it; the molten image, and moreh sheker, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb elilim (idols)?

¹⁹ Hoy (woe) unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb even (stone), Arise, it shall teach! Hinei, it is laid over with zahav and kesef, and there is no ruach at all in it.

²⁰ But Hashem is in His Heikhal Kodesh; let kol ha’aretz keep silence before Him.

3 A tefillah of Chabakuk HaNavi. On Shigionoth.

² Hashem, I have heard Thy speech, and was afraid; Hashem, revive Thy work in the midst of the shanim, in the midst of the shanim make known; in wrath remember mercy.

³ G-d came from Teman, and HaKadosh from Mt Paran. Selah. His hod (glory) covered HaShomayim, and ha’aretz was full of His tehillah (praise).

⁴ And His brightness was like the ohr; He had rays of light flashing from His yad; and there was His power hidden.

⁵ Before Him went the dever (plague), and pestilence went forth at His feet.

⁶ He stood, and measured ha’aretz; He beheld, and made the Goyim tremble; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow; His ways are olam (everlasting).

⁷ I saw the tents of Kushan in affliction; and the dwellings of Eretz Midyan did tremble.

⁸ Was Hashem displeased against the rivers? Was Thine anger against the rivers? Was Thy wrath against the yam, that Thou didst ride upon Thine susim and Thy merkavot of yeshuah (salvation)?

⁹ Thy keshet (bow) was made bare. Oathes were sworn over mattot (rods, arrows). Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

¹⁰ The harim (mountains) saw Thee, and they trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by; the tehom (deep) uttered its voice, and lifted up its hands on high.

¹¹ The shemesh and yarei’ach stood still in their habitation; at the ohr of Thine arrows they went, and at the lightning of Thy glittering spear.

¹² Thou didst march through the land in indignation, Thou didst thresh the Goyim in anger.

¹³ Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, even for deliverance of Thy Moshiach; Thou crushed the rosh of the bais of the wicked, Thou stripped him thigh to neck. Selah.

¹⁴ Thou didst pierce with his spears the head of his horde; they came out like a whirlwind to scatter me; their rejoicing was like unto devouring the aniyim (the poor) in secret.

¹⁵ Thou didst walk through the yam with Thine susim, through the heap of mayim rabbim.

¹⁶ When I heard, my heart trembled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might wait patiently for the Yom Tzarah to come on the nation invading us.

¹⁷ Although the etz te’enah shall not blossom, neither shall grape be on the gefen; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no okhel; the tzon shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls;

¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in Hashem, I will joy in the G-d of my salvation.

¹⁹ Hashem Adonoi is my strength, and He will make my feet like the feet of a deer, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

1 The Devar Hashem which came unto Tzephanyah ben Cushi, ben Gedalyah, ben Amaryah, ben Chizkiyah, in the yamim of Yoshiyahu (Josiah) ben Amon, Melech Yehudah.

² I will utterly sweep away all things from off the adamah, saith Hashem.

³ I will sweep away Adam (humankind) and Behemah (beast, animal, cattle); I will sweep away Oph HaShomayim (Birds of the Air) and the Dagim of HaYam (Fish of the Sea), and the michsholim (stumbling blocks, what causes to fall into sin) with the resha’im; and I will cut off adam from off the adamah, saith Hashem.

⁴ I will also stretch out Mine hand against Yehudah, and against all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim; and I will cut off from this place the she’ar HaBa’al (remnant of Baal), and the shem (name) of the Kemarim (the idolatrous priests; see 2Kgs 23:5) with the [idolatrous] kohanim;

⁵ And those that worship the Tz’va HaShomayim (Army of Heaven, star g-ds) upon the rooftops; and those that worship and that swear [oaths] by Hashem, but also swear by Milcom (i.e., Their King [Baal]);

⁶ And those that turned back from following Hashem; and those that have not sought Hashem, nor inquired of Him.

⁷ Hold thy peace (keep silent) at the presence of Adonai Hashem: for the Yom Hashem is at hand; for Hashem hath prepared a zevach (sacrifice), Hashem hath consecrated His guests [i.e., made HaKeru’im (the Invited ones) of Him His Mequddashim, Consecrated ones, i.e., the nations set apart to consume His apostate people, see Yeshayah 13:3].

⁸ And it shall come to pass in the Yom Zevach Hashem, that I will punish the sarim (princes), and Bnei HaMelech, and all such as are clothed with malbush nochri (foreign apparel).

⁹ In the same Yom also will I visit to punish all those that leap over the threshold [See 1 Sm 5:5], which fill their masters’ batim (houses) with chamas (violence) and mirmah (deceit).

¹⁰ And it shall come to pass in that Yom, saith Hashem, that there shall be the noise of a cry from Sha’ar HaDagim, and a wail from the Second Quarter of the city, and a loud crash from the hills.

¹¹ Howl, ye inhabitants of HaMakhtesh [a locality in Yerushalayim], for all the merchants are cut down; all they that weigh out kesef are cut off.

¹² And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Yerushalayim with nerot (lamps), and visit to punish the [proud] men that are [complacently] settled on their lees [wine dregs]; that say in their lev, Hashem will not do tov, neither will Hashem do rah.

¹³ Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their batim a desolation; they shall also build batim, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant kramim (vineyards), but not drink the yayin thereof.

¹⁴ The Yom Hashem HaGadol is near, near and hastening quickly; the sound of the Yom Hashem is mar (bitter); there the gibbor (mighty man, warrior) cries aloud.

¹⁵ That Yom is a Yom Evrah (day of wrath), a Yom Tzarah and Metzukah (a day of trouble and distress, pressure), a Yom of Sho’ah (catastrophe) and Meshoah (desolation), a Yom of Choshech and Afelah (gloom), a Yom of Anan and Arafel (thick darkness),

¹⁶ A Yom of the Shofar and Teruah (battle cry) against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.

¹⁷ And I will bring distress upon adam, that they shall walk like ivrim, because they have sinned against Hashem; and their dahm shall be poured out like dust, and their bowels like dung.

¹⁸ Neither their kesef nor their zahav shall be able to save them in the Yom Evrat Hashem (Day of Hashem’s Wrath); but kol ha’aretz (the whole earth) shall be devoured by the eish of Hashem’s kina (jealousy, zeal, passion); for He shall make a complete end, a terrible end, of kol yoshvei ha’aretz (all them that dwell on the earth).

2 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O shameful nation;

² Before the decree brings forth, before the day passes like the chaff, before the charon af Hashem comes upon you, before the Yom Af Hashem (Day of Hashem’s Anger) comes upon you;

³ Seek ye Hashem, all ye anvei ha’aretz (humble of the land), which have wrought His mishpat; seek tzedek, seek anavah (meekness, humility); it may be ye shall be hid in the Yom Af Hashem.

⁴ For Azah (Gaza) shall be abandoned, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod in broad day, and Ekron shall be uprooted.

⁵ Hoy (Woe) unto the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Keretim (Cretans)! The Devar Hashem is against you, O Kena’an, eretz of the Pelishtim (Philistines). I will even destroy thee, that there no inhabitant remains.

⁶ And the seacoast shall be dwellings and meadows for ro’im (shepherds), and pens for tzon.

⁷ And the coast shall be for the she’erit Bais Yehudah; they shall feed thereupon; in the batim (houses) of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the erev; for Hashem Eloheichem shall visit them, and restore their fortunes.

⁸ I have heard the reproach of Moav, and the revilings of the Bnei Ammon, whereby they have reproached My nation, and magnified themselves against their territory.

⁹ Therefore as I live, saith Hashem Tzva’os, Elohei Yisroel, Surely Moav shall be as Sodom, and the Bnei Ammon as Amora (Gomorrah), a place of weeds and salt pits, and desolation ad olam; the She’erit Ami shall plunder them, and the remnant of My nation shall possess them.

¹⁰ This shall they have in return for their ga’on (pride), because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Am Hashem Tzva’os.

¹¹ Hashem will be terrible unto them; for He will reduce to nothing all the elohei ha’aretz (g-ds of the land); and men shall worship Hashem, everyone from his place, even all the coasts and islands of the Goyim.

¹² Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by My cherev.

¹³ And Hashem will stretch out His hand against the tzafon (north), and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like a midbar.

¹⁴ And herds shall lie down in the midst of it, all the beasts of the Goyim; both the desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns; their voice shall hoot in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; the beams of cedar will be exposed.

¹⁵ This is HaIr HaAlizah (the rejoicing city) that dwelt carelessly, that said in her lev, I am, and there is none beside me; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and shake his fist.

3 Hoy (woe) to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city [i.e.,Jerusalem]!

² She obeyed not the voice; she received not musar (correction); her bitachon (trust) was not in Hashem; she drew not near to her G-d.

³ Her sarim (princes) within her are roaring arayot; her shofetim are evening wolves; they leave nothing for the boker (morning).

⁴ Her nevi’im are arrogant, anshei bogedot (treacherous persons); her kohanim have profaned the kodesh, they have done violence to the torah [T.N. which they were ordained to faithfully observe and teach].

⁵ Hashem Tzaddik is in the midst thereof; He will do no injustice; boker by boker doth Hashem dispense mishpat; He faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no boshet (shame).

⁶ I have cut off the Goyim; their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no ish (man), that there is no inhabitant.

⁷ I said, Surely thou wilt fear Me, thou wilt accept musar (correction, instruction); so that her dwelling place should not be cut off, despite everything for which I punished her; but they rose early [i.e., eagerly], and corrupted all their doings.

⁸ Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith Hashem, until the Yom that I rise up for a witness; for My determination is to gather the Goyim, that I may assemble the mamlachot, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My charon af; for kol ha’aretz (all the earth) shall be devoured with the eish of My kina (jealousy).

⁹ For then will I restore to the people a safah berurah (pure language, purified lip), that they may all call upon the Shem Hashem, to serve Him with shekhem echad (one shoulder, one accord).

¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring Mine minchah.

¹¹ In that Yom shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy ga’avah (pride), and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My Har Hakodesh.

¹² I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the Shem Hashem.

¹³ The she’erit Yisroel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a leshon tarmit (tongue of deceitfulness) be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

¹⁴ Sing, O Bat Tziyon; shout, O Yisroel; be glad and rejoice with all the lev, O Bat Yerushalayim.

¹⁵ Hashem hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy. The Melech Yisroel, even Hashem, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.

¹⁶ In that Yom it shall be said to Yerushalayim, Fear thou not; and to Tziyon, Let not thine hands hang limp.

¹⁷ Hashem thy G-d in the midst of thee is gibbor; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with simchah; He will quiet [you] in His ahavah (love), He will joy over thee with singing.

¹⁸ They that mourn I will gather for the mo’ed (time of the feast), who are of thee [O Tziyon], to whom the cherpah (reproach of the Golus) presses upon them [see 2C 7:10].

¹⁹ Hinei, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee; and I will save her that is lame, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land of their boshet (shame).

²⁰ At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you; for I will make you a shem and a tehillah among Kol Amei Ha’aretz (all the peoples of the earth), when I turn back your captivity and restore your fortunes before your eyes, saith Hashem.