| New King James Version | English Standard Version |
| 1The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. | 1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. |
| 2O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. | 2O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? |
| 3Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. | 3Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. |
| 4Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. | 4So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. |
| 5“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. | 5“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. |
| 6For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. | 6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. |
| 7They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. | 7They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. |
| 8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. | 8Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. |
| 9“They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand. | 9They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. |
| 10They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. | 10At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. |
| 11Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.” | 11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!” |
| 12Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. | 12Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. |
| 13You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he? | 13You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? |
| 14Why do You make men like fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler over them? | 14You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. |
| 15They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. | 15He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. |
| 16Therefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And their food plentiful. | 16Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. |
| 17Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity? | 17Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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