1The •oraclea that Habakkuk the prophet saw.b
Habakkuk’s First Prayer
2How long,c LORD, must I call for helpd
and You do not listen
or cry out to You about violenceef
and You do not save?
3Why do You force me to look at injustice?g
Why do You tolerateh wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restricti the righteous;
therefore, justicej comes out perverted.
God’s First Answer
5Look at the nationsk, l and observem —
be utterly astounded!n
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believeo
when you hear about it.p
6Look! I am raising upq the Chaldeans,r
that bitter,s impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7They are fiercet and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8Their horses are swifteru than leopardsv
and more fiercew than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.x
9All of them come to do violence;
their facesy are set in determination.z
They gatheraa prisoners like sand.ab
10They mockac kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laughad at every fortress
and build siege ramps to captureae it.
11Then they sweepaf by like the wind
and pass through.
They are •guilty;ag their strength is their god.
Habakkuk’s Second Prayer
12Are You not from eternity, •Yahweh my God?ah
My Holy One,ai Youaj will not die.
LORD, You appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock,ak You destined them to punish us.
13Your eyesal are too puream to look on evil,
and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous?an
Why are You silent
while oneao who is wicked swallows up
oneap who is more righteous than himself?
14You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea,aq
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,ar
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
16That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet
and burn incense to their fishing net,
for by these things their portion is rich
and their food plentiful.as
17Will they therefore empty their netat
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?
Footnotes:
a. 1:1 Is 13:1; 30:6; Jr 18:18; Ezk 12:10; Hab 1:1; Zch 9:1; 12:1; Mal 1:1
b. 1:1 Nm 24:4; Jb 19:26; Is 13:1
c. 1:2 Ps 4:2; 6:3; 13:1
d. 1:2 Jb 19:7; Ps 5:2; Lm 3:8
e. 1:1 **
f. 1:2 Jr 6:7; Ezk 7:11,23; 8:17; 12:19; 45:9; Mc 6:12; Hab 1:9; 2:8,17
g. 1:3 Jb 4:8; Ps 5:5; Is 5:7
h. 1:3 Lit observe
i. 1:4 Jdg 20:43; Ps 22:12
j. 1:4 Ex 23:6
k. 1:5 DSS, LXX, Syr read Look, you treacherous people
l. 1:5 Ps 2:1
m. 1:5 Gn 15:5
n. 1:5 Gn 43:33; Ps 48:5; Ec 5:8
o. 1:5 Gn 15:6
p. 1:5 Ac 13:41
q. 1:6 Ru 4:5
r. 1:6 = the Babylonians
s. 1:6 Jdg 18:25
t. 1:7 Sg 6:4,10
u. 1:8 2Sm 1:23
v. 1:8 Is 11:6; Jr 5:6; 13:23; Hs 13:7
w. 1:8 Or and quicker
x. 1:8 Dt 28:49
y. 1:9 Gn 48:11
z. 1:9 Hb obscure
aa. 1:9 Dt 11:14
ab. 1:9 Jos 11:4
ac. 1:10 2Kg 2:23
ad. 1:10 2Ch 30:10
ae. 1:10 Nm 21:32
af. 1:11 Is 8:8
ag. 1:11 Or wind, and transgress and incur guilt
ah. 1:12 1Ch 29:10; Ps 90:2; 93:2; 103:17; Mc 5:2
ai. 1:12 Is 1:4
aj. 1:12 Ancient Jewish tradition reads we
ak. 1:12 Dt 32:4; Ps 18:2
al. 1:13 2Ch 6:20; 16:9
am. 1:13 Ex 25:11; Ps 12:6; 19:9; 51:10; Pr 22:11; Ezk 36:25
an. 1:13 Jdg 9:23
ao. 1:13 = Babylon
ap. 1:13 = Judah
aq. 1:14 Ec 9:12
ar. 1:15 2Kg 19:28; 2Ch 33:11; Is 37:29; Jr 16:16; Ezk 19:4,9; 29:4; 38:4; Am 4:2
as. 1:16 Dt 8:17; Is 10:13; 37:24-25
at. 1:17 DSS read sword