Habakkuk 1
1
1The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Question
2O Lord, how long shall I cry,
#Lam. 3:8And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, #Mic. 2:1, 2; 3:1–3“Violence!”
And You will #(Job 21:5–16)not save.
3Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the #Jer. 12:1wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5“Look#Is. 29:14; Ezek. 12:22–28 among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6For indeed I am #Deut. 28:49, 50; 2 Kin. 24:2; 2 Chr. 36:17; Jer. 4:11–13; Mic. 4:10raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty #Ezek. 7:24; 21:31nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8Their horses also are #Jer. 4:13swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the #Job 9:26; 39:29, 30; Lam. 4:19; Ezek. 17:3; Hos. 8:1; Matt. 24:28; Luke 17:37eagle that hastens to eat.
9“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
#Dan. 5:4Ascribing this power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
12Are You not #Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2; 93:2; Mal. 3:6from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, #Is. 10:5–7; Mal. 3:5You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for #Jer. 25:9correction.
13You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16Therefore #Deut. 8:17they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?
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Habakkuk 1: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Habakkuk 1
1
1This is the message that the LORD revealed to the prophet Habakkuk.
Habakkuk Complains of Injustice
2O LORD, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence? 3Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you endure to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all round me, and there is fighting and quarrelling everywhere. 4The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.
The LORD's Reply
5 #
Acts 13.41
Then the LORD said to his people, “Keep watching the nations round you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it. 6#2 Kgs 24.2I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands. 7They spread fear and terror, and in their pride they are a law to themselves.
8“Their horses are faster than leopards, fiercer than hungry wolves. Their horsemen come riding from distant lands; their horses paw the ground. They come swooping down like eagles attacking their prey.
9“Their armies advance in violent conquest, and everyone is terrified as they approach.#1.9 Probable text and everyone… approach; Hebrew unclear. Their captives are as numerous as grains of sand. 10They treat kings with contempt and laugh at high officials. No fortress can stop them — they pile up earth against it and capture it. 11Then they sweep on like the wind and are gone, these men whose power is their god.”
Habakkuk Complains to the LORD Again
12 LORD, from the very beginning you are God. You are my God, holy and eternal. LORD, my God and protector, you have chosen the Babylonians and made them strong so that they can punish us. 13But how can you stand these treacherous, evil men? Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong. So why are you silent while they destroy people who are more righteous than they are?
14How can you treat people like fish or like a swarm of insects that have no ruler to direct them? 15The Babylonians catch people with hooks, as though they were fish. They drag them off in nets and shout for joy over their catch! 16They even worship their nets and offer sacrifices to them, because their nets provide them with the best of everything.
17Are they going to use their swords for ever and keep on destroying nations without mercy?
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.