Habakkuk 1
1
Habakkuk’s Complaint
1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2O Yahweh, how long shall I cry for help
and you will not listen?
How long will I cry out to you, “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3Why do you cause me to see evil
while you look at trouble?
Destruction and violence happen before me;
contention and strife arise.
4Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice does not go forth perpetually.#Or “forever”
For the wicked surround the righteous;
therefore justice goes forth perverted.
God’s Answer to Habakkuk
5“Look among the nations and see;
be astonished and astounded.
For a work is about to be done in your days
that you will not believe if it is told.
6For look! I am raising up the Chaldeans,
the bitter and impetuous nation,
the one who walks through the spacious places of earth
to take possession of dwellings not belonging to it.#Or “him”
7They#Hebrew “He” are dreadful and awesome;
their#Hebrew “his” justice and their#Hebrew “his” dignity proceed from themselves.#Hebrew “him”
8Their#Hebrew “His” horses are more swift than leopards;
they are more menacing than wolves at dusk.
Their#Hebrew “His” horsemen gallop; their#Hebrew “his” horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an eagle that is swift to devour.
9All of them#Hebrew “him” come for violence,
their faces pressing forward.
They gather captives like the sand.
10And they themselves scoff at kings
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortification,
and they heap up earth and take it.
11Then they sweep like the wind and pass on;
they become guilty, whose might is their#Hebrew “his” god!”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12Are you not from of old,
O Yahweh my God, my Holy One?
You#Hebrew “we shall not die,” considered a deliberate scribal change of the text to avoid offensive language toward Yahweh shall not die.
O Yahweh, you have marked them#Hebrew “him” for judgment;
O Rock, you have established them#Hebrew “him” for reproof.
13Your eyes are too pure to see evil,
and you are not able to look at wrongdoing.#Or “trouble”
Why do you look at the treacherous?
Why are you silent when the wicked swallows up
someone more righteous than him?
14You make humankind like fish of the sea,
like crawling creatures that have no ruler among them.
15He brings up all of them with a fishhook;
he drags them up with a fishnet;
he gathers them in his dragnet.
Therefore, he rejoices and exults.
16Therefore he sacrifices to his fishnet
and makes offerings to his dragnet,
for by them he makes a good living#Literally “his portion is fat”
and his food is rich.
17Will he therefore empty his fishnet
and continually kill nations without showing mercy?
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Habakkuk 1: LEB
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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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