Habakkuk 1
1
1The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s complaint
2How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’
but you do not save?
3Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4Therefore the law is paralysed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
The Lord’s answer
5‘Look at the nations and watch –
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
6I am raising up the Babylonians,#1:6 Or Chaldeans
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
7They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honour.
8Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes#1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
10They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11Then they sweep past like the wind and go on –
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.’
Habakkuk’s second complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my Holy One, you#1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we will never die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his drag-net;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to his drag-net,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?
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Habakkuk 1: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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Habakkuk 1
1
1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
The prophet complains
2 LORD, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you don’t deliver us.
3Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
4The Instruction is ineffective.
Justice does not endure
because the wicked surround the righteous.
Justice becomes warped.
The LORD responds
5Look among the nations and watch!
Be astonished and stare
because something is happening in your days
that you wouldn’t believe even if told.
6I am about to rouse the Chaldeans,
that bitter and impetuous nation,
which travels throughout the earth to possess dwelling places it does not own.
7The Chaldean is dreadful and fearful.
He makes his own justice and dignity.#1.7 Or his justice and dignity come from him
8His horses are faster than leopards;
they are quicker than wolves of the evening.
His horsemen charge forward;
his horsemen come from far away.
They fly in to devour, swiftly, like an eagle.#1.8 Or vulture
9They come for violence,
the horde with all their faces set toward the desert.#1.9 Heb uncertain
He takes captives like sand.
10He makes fun of kings;
rulers are ridiculous to him.
He laughs at every fortress,
then he piles up dirt and takes it.
11He passes through like the wind and invades;
but he will be held guilty,
the one whose strength is his god.
The prophet questions the LORD
12 LORD, aren’t you ancient, my God, my holy one?
Don’t let us die.#1.12 Heb uncertain
LORD, you put the Chaldean here for judgment.
Rock, you established him as a rebuke.
13Your 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?
14You made humans like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things with no one to rule over them.
15The 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.
16Therefore, 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.
17Should he continue to empty his net
and continue to slay nations without sparing them?
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