| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. | 1The following is the message which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: |
| 2O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! | 2How long, LORD, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you, "Violence!" But you do not intervene! |
| 3Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. | 3Why do you force me to witness injustice? Why do you put up with wrongdoing? Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife. |
| 4Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. | 4For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted. |
| 5Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. | 5"Look at the nations and pay attention! You will be shocked and amazed! For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. |
| 6For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. | 6Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them. |
| 7They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. | 7They are frightening and terrifying; they decide for themselves what is right. |
| 8Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. | 8Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. |
| 9They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. | 9All of them intend to do violence; every face is determined. They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. |
| 10And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. | 10They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps and capture them. |
| 11Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. | 11They sweep by like the wind and pass on. But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty." |
| 12Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. | 12LORD, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal. LORD, you have made them your instrument of judgment. Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. |
| 13Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? | 13You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? |
| 14And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? | 14You made people like fish in the sea, like animals in the sea that have no ruler. |
| 15They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. | 15The Babylonian tyrant pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. When he catches them in his dragnet, he is very happy. |
| 16Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. | 16Because of his success he offers sacrifices to his throw net and burns incense to his dragnet; for because of them he has plenty of food, and more than enough to eat. |
| 17Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? | 17Will he then continue to fill and empty his throw net? Will he always destroy nations and spare none? |
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