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Habakkuk 1
Revised Geneva Translation
Habakkuk 1
Revised Geneva Translation
1 The burden which Habakkuk the Prophet saw:
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear, cry out to You for violence, and You will not help?
3 Why do You show me iniquity and cause me to behold sorrow? For plundering and violence are before me. And there are those who raise strife and contention.
4 Therefore, the Law is dissolved, and judgment never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, wrong judgment proceeds.
5 “Behold among the heathen, and watch, and wonder, and marvel. For I will work a work in your days. You will not believe it, though it is told to you.
6 “For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and furious nation, who shall go upon the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 “They are terrible and fearful. Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed themselves.
8 “Also, their horses are swifter than leopards, and fiercer than wolves in the evening. And their horsemen are numerous. And their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly as the eagle diving toward prey.
9 “They all come to plunder. For their faces shall be an East wind. And they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10 “And they shall mock the kings. And the princes shall be a scorn to them. They shall deride every stronghold. For they shall gather dust and take it.
11 “Then they shall take courage and transgress and do wickedly, imputing their power to their god.”
12 Are not You of old, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have ordained them for judgment! And, O God, You have established them for correction.
13 You are of pure Eyes and cannot consider evil. You cannot regard wickedness. Why do You look upon the transgressors and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours the man who is more righteous than he?
14 And men who have no ruler over them You make as the fish of the sea and as the creeping things.
15 They take up all with the hook. They catch it in their net and gather it in their fishing net, over which they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore, they sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net, because by them their portion is fat and their food plentiful.
17 Shall they, therefore, stretch out their net while continuing to slay the nations without pity?
Habakkuk 1
New International Version
Habakkuk 1
New International Version
1 The prophecy(A) that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?(C)
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?(D)
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate(E) wrongdoing?(F)
Destruction and violence(G) are before me;
there is strife,(H) and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law(I) is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice(J) is perverted.(K)
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.(L)
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.(M)
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](N)
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(O)
to seize dwellings not their own.(P)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;(Q)
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter(R) than leopards,
fiercer than wolves(S) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners(T) like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.(U)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps(V) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(W) and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(X)
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(Y)
My God, my Holy One,(Z) you[c] will never die.(AA)
You, Lord, have appointed(AB) them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,(AC) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(AD) to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(AE)
Why then do you tolerate(AF) the treacherous?(AG)
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(AH)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(AI) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(AJ)
he catches them in his net,(AK)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense(AL) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?(AM)
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
- Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we
Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
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