Habakkuk 1:2-11
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Habakkuk’s First Prayer
2 How long,(A) Lord, must I call for help(B)
and You do not listen
or cry out to You about violence
and You do not save?
3 Why do You force me to look at injustice?(C)
Why do You tolerate[a] wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict(D) the righteous;
therefore, justice(E) comes out perverted.
God’s First Answer
5 Look at the nations[b](F) and observe(G)—
be utterly astounded!(H)
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believe(I)
when you hear about it.(J)
6 Look! I am raising up(K) the Chaldeans,[c]
that bitter,(L) impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce(M) and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter(N) than leopards(O)
and more fierce[d] than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.(P)
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces(Q) are set in determination.[e]
They gather(R) prisoners like sand.(S)
10 They mock(T) kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh(U) at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture(V) it.
11 Then they sweep(W) by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty;[f] their strength is their god.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:3 Lit observe
- Habakkuk 1:5 DSS, LXX, Syr read Look, you treacherous people
- Habakkuk 1:6 = the Babylonians
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or and quicker
- Habakkuk 1:9 Hb obscure
- Habakkuk 1:11 Or wind, and transgress and incur guilt
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