Habakkuk 1
1
Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1The #1:1 I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.oracle (a burdensome message—a pronouncement from God) which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2¶O Lord, how long will I call for help
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
3Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
For destruction and violence are before me;
Strife continues and contention arises.
4Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored
And justice is never upheld,
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore, justice becomes perverted.
5¶[The Lord replied,] “Look among the nations! See!
Be astonished! Wonder!
For I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe it if you were told. [Acts 13:40, 41]
6“For behold, I am raising up the #1:6 The Chaldeans were the dominant people in Babylonia. Originally from a small part of southern Babylonia near the head of the Persian Gulf, they were an aggressive tribe and completely controlled the country after 625 b.c. Babylon was their capital city and became the scholarly and scientific center of western Asia. The words “Chaldean” and “Babylonian” are used interchangeably.Chaldeans [who rule in #1:6 “Babylon” was the name of the magnificent capital city of Babylonia, and the name of the city was commonly used to refer to the entire area which was located at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent. Both the plain of Shinar and Chaldea (land of the Chaldeans) were part of ancient Babylonia.Babylon],
That fierce and impetuous nation
Who march throughout the earth
To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them. [2 Kin 24:2]
7“The Chaldeans are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.
8“Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than [hungry] wolves in the evening,
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from far away;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
9“They all come for violence;
Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward,
They gather prisoners like sand.
10“They make fun of kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They ridicule every stronghold
And heap up rubble [for earth mounds] and capture it.
11“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”
12¶Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord, my God, My Holy One?
We will not die.
O Lord, You have appointed the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon] to execute [Your] judgment,
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct and chastise. [Deut 32:4]
13Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You cannot look favorably on wickedness.
Why then do You look favorably
On those who act treacherously?
Why are you silent when the wicked (Chaldean oppressors) destroy
Those more righteous than they?
14Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,
Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler [and are helpless against their enemies]?
15 The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
And drag them away with a net,
And gather them together in their fishing net;
So they rejoice and are glad.
16Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through these things their catch is large and they live luxuriously,
And their food is plentiful.
17Will they continue to empty their net
And [mercilessly] go on destroying nations without sparing?
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Habakkuk 1
1
1The revelation which Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2Yahweh,#1:2 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “Lord” (all caps) in other translations. 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 paralyzed, and justice never prevails; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
5“Look among the nations, watch, and wonder marvelously; 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 judgment 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, Yahweh my God,#1:12 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim). my Holy One? We will not die. Yahweh, you have appointed them for judgment. 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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