Habakkuk 1
1
1The oracle of God which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 #
Is 13.1—14.23; 47; Jer 50—51. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and thou wilt not hear?
Or cry to thee “Violence!”
and thou wilt not save?
3Why dost thou make me see wrongs
and look upon trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4So the law is slacked
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous,
so justice goes forth perverted.
5 #
Acts 13.41. Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 #
Rev 20.9. For lo, I am rousing the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize habitations not their own.
7Dread and terrible are they;
their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.
8Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Yea, their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9They all come for violence;
terror#1.9 Cn: Heb uncertain of them goes before them.
They gather captives like sand.
10At kings they scoff,
and of rulers they make sport.
They laugh at every fortress,
for they heap up earth and take it.
11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
guilty men, whose own might is their god!
12Art thou not from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, thou hast ordained them as a judgment;
and thou, O Rock, hast established them for chastisement.
13Thou who art of purer eyes than to behold evil
and canst not look on wrong,
why dost thou look on faithless men,
and art silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
14For thou makest men like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15He brings all of them up with a hook,
he drags them out with his net,
he gathers them in his seine;
so he rejoices and exults.
16Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to his seine;
for by them he lives in luxury,#1.16 Heb his portion is fat
and his food is rich.
17Is he then to keep on emptying his net,
and mercilessly slaying nations for ever?
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
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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