Habakkuk 1:1-11

Contemporary English Version

1 I am Habakkuk the prophet. And this is the message^[a] that the Lord gave me.

Habakkuk Complains to the Lord

²Our Lord, how long must I beg
for your help
    before you listen?
How long before you save us
    from all this violence?
³Why do you make me watch
    such terrible injustice?
Why do you allow violence,
lawlessness, crime, and cruelty
    to spread everywhere?
⁴Laws cannot be enforced;
    justice is always the loser;
criminals crowd out honest people
    and twist the laws around.

The Lord Answers Habakkuk

⁵^(A) Look and be amazed
at what's happening
    among the nations!
Even if you were told,
you would never believe
    what's taking place now.
⁶^(B) I am sending the Babylonians.
They are fierce and cruel—
    marching across the land,
    conquering cities and towns.

⁷How fearsome and frightening.
Their only laws and rules
    are the ones they make up.
⁸Their cavalry troops are faster
    than leopards,
more ferocious than wolves
    hunting at sunset,
and swifter than hungry eagles
    suddenly swooping down.

⁹They are eager to destroy,^[b]
and they gather captives
    like handfuls of sand.
¹⁰They make fun of rulers
    and laugh at fortresses,
while building dirt mounds
    so they can capture cities.^[c]
¹¹Then suddenly they disappear
    like a gust of wind—
those sinful people who worship
    their own strength.

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Footnotes

1.1 message: Or “vision.”
1.9 eager to destroy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
1.10 dirt mounds … cities: Attacking armies often build dirt mounds against city walls to make it easier for them to climb the wall and capture the city.