Habakkuk 1
1
1 The revelation which Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2LORD,#1:2 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “Lord” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name (Hebrew “יהוה”, usually pronounced Yahweh). how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save? 3Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up. 4Therefore the law is paralysed, and justice never prevails; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
5“Look amongst the nations, watch, and wonder marvellously; for I am working a work in your days which you will not believe though it is told you. 6For, behold,#1:6 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who march through the width of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7They are feared and dreaded. Their judgement and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour. 9All of them come for violence. Their hordes face forward. They gather prisoners like sand. 10Yes, they scoff at kings, and princes are a derision to them. They laugh at every stronghold, for they build up an earthen ramp and take it. 11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on. They are indeed guilty, whose strength is their god.”
12Aren’t you from everlasting, LORD my God,#1:12 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim). my Holy One? We will not die. LORD, you have appointed them for judgement. You, Rock, have established him to punish. 13You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously and keep silent when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he, 14and make men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things that have no ruler over them? 15He takes up all of them with the hook. He catches them in his net and gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore he rejoices and is glad. 16Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, because by them his life is luxurious and his food is good. 17Will he therefore continually empty his net, and kill the nations without mercy?
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Habakkuk 1
1
1This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
but you do not come to save.
3Must I forever see these evil deeds?
Why must I watch all this misery?
Wherever I look,
I see destruction and violence.
I am surrounded by people
who love to argue and fight.
4The law has become paralyzed,
and there is no justice in the courts.
The wicked far outnumber the righteous,
so that justice has become perverted.
The Lord’s Reply
5The Lord replied,
“Look around at the nations;
look and be amazed!#1:5 Greek version reads Look, you mockers; / look and be amazed and die. Compare Acts 13:41.
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.
6I am raising up the Babylonians,#1:6 Or Chaldeans.
a cruel and violent people.
They will march across the world
and conquer other lands.
7They are notorious for their cruelty
and do whatever they like.
8Their horses are swifter than cheetahs#1:8 Or leopards.
and fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their charioteers charge from far away.
Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.
9“On they come, all bent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind,
sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.
10They scoff at kings and princes
and scorn all their fortresses.
They simply pile ramps of earth
against their walls and capture them!
11They sweep past like the wind
and are gone.
But they are deeply guilty,
for their own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—
surely you do not plan to wipe us out?
O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us,
to punish us for our many sins.
13But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil.
Will you wink at their treachery?
Should you be silent while the wicked
swallow up people more righteous than they?
14Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?
15Must we be strung up on their hooks
and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?
16Then they will worship their nets
and burn incense in front of them.
“These nets are the gods who have made us rich!”
they will claim.
17Will you let them get away with this forever?
Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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