Habakkuk 1
AMP — Amplified Bible (AMP)
NIVUK — New International Version - UK Bible (NIVUK)
Verse 1
The [a]oracle (a burdensome message—a pronouncement from God) which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
O Lord, how long will I call for help
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
For destruction and violence are before me;
Strife continues and contention arises.
Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored
And justice is never upheld,
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore, justice becomes perverted.
[The Lord replied,] “Look among the nations! See!
Be astonished! Wonder!
For I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe it if you were told.
“For behold, I am raising up the [b]Chaldeans [who rule in [c]Babylon],
That fierce and impetuous nation
Who march throughout the earth
To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them.
“The Chaldeans are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.
“Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than [hungry] wolves in the evening,
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from far away;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
“They all come for violence;
Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward,
They gather prisoners like sand.
“They make fun of kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They ridicule every stronghold
And heap up rubble [for earth mounds] and capture it.
“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”
Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord, my God, My Holy One?
We will not die.
O Lord, You have appointed the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon] to execute [Your] judgment,
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct and chastise.
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You cannot look favorably on wickedness.
Why then do You look favorably
On those who act treacherously?
Why are you silent when the wicked (Chaldean oppressors) destroy
Those more righteous than they?
Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,
Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler [and are helpless against their enemies]?
The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
And drag them away with a net,
And gather them together in their fishing net;
So they rejoice and are glad.
Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through these things their catch is large and they live luxuriously,
And their food is plentiful.
Will they continue to empty their net
And [mercilessly] go on destroying nations without sparing?
The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s complaint
Verse 2
O Lord, how long will I call for help
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’
but you do not save?
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’
but you do not save?
Verse 3
Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
For destruction and violence are before me;
Strife continues and contention arises.
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Verse 4
Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored
And justice is never upheld,
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore, justice becomes perverted.
Therefore the law is paralysed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
The Lord’s answer
Verse 5
[The Lord replied,] “Look among the nations! See!
Be astonished! Wonder!
For I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe it if you were told.
‘Look at the nations and watch –
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
Verse 6
“For behold, I am raising up the [b]Chaldeans [who rule in [c]Babylon],
That fierce and impetuous nation
Who march throughout the earth
To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them.
I am raising up the Babylonians,[a]
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
Verse 7
“The Chaldeans are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.
They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honour.
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honour.
Verse 8
“Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than [hungry] wolves in the evening,
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from far away;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
Verse 9
“They all come for violence;
Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward,
They gather prisoners like sand.
they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
Verse 10
“They make fun of kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They ridicule every stronghold
And heap up rubble [for earth mounds] and capture it.
They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
Verse 11
“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”
Then they sweep past like the wind and go on –
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.’
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.’
Habakkuk’s second complaint
Verse 12
Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord, my God, My Holy One?
We will not die.
O Lord, You have appointed the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon] to execute [Your] judgment,
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct and chastise.
Lord, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my Holy One, you[c] will never die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
My God, my Holy One, you[c] will never die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
Verse 13
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You cannot look favorably on wickedness.
Why then do You look favorably
On those who act treacherously?
Why are you silent when the wicked (Chaldean oppressors) destroy
Those more righteous than they?
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Verse 14
Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,
Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler [and are helpless against their enemies]?
You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
Verse 15
The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
And drag them away with a net,
And gather them together in their fishing net;
So they rejoice and are glad.
The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his drag-net;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his drag-net;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
Verse 16
Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through these things their catch is large and they live luxuriously,
And their food is plentiful.
Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to his drag-net,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
and burns incense to his drag-net,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
Verse 17
Will they continue to empty their net
And [mercilessly] go on destroying nations without sparing?
Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?
destroying nations without mercy?