Habakkuk 1

1 The burden, which Habakkuk the Prophet did see.

The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen:

2 O Lord, howe long shall I crye, and thou wilt not heare! euen crye out vnto thee for violence, and thou wilt not helpe!

Till when, O Jehovah, have I cried, And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee — 'Violence,' and Thou dost not save.

3 Why doest thou shewe mee iniquitie, and cause me to beholde sorowe? for spoyling, and violence are before me: and there are that rayse vp strife and contention.

Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence [are] before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift [itself] up,

4 Therefore the Lawe is dissolued, and iudgement doeth neuer go forth: for the wicked doeth compasse about the righteous: therefore wrong iudgement proceedeth.

Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.

5 Beholde among the heathen, and regarde, and wonder, and maruaile: for I will worke a worke in your dayes: yee will not beleeue it, though it be tolde you.

Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.

6 For lo, I raise vp the Caldeans, that bitter and furious nation, which shall goe vpon the breadth of the lande to possesse the dwelling places, that are not theirs.

For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own.

7 They are terrible and fearefull: their iudgement and their dignitie shall proceede of theselues.

Terrible and fearful it [is], From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.

8 Their horses also are swifter then the leopards, and are more fierce then the wolues in the euening: and their horsemen are many: and their horsemen shall come from farre: they shall flie as the eagle hasting to meate.

Swifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume.

9 They come all to spoyle: before their faces shalbe an Eastwinde, and they shall gather the captiuitie, as the sand.

Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.

10 And they shall mocke the Kings, and the princes shalbe a skorne vnto them: they shall deride euery strong holde: for they shall gather dust, and take it.

And at kings it doth scoff, And princes [are] a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it.

11 Then shall they take a courage, and transgresse and doe wickedly, imputing this their power vnto their god.

Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.

12 Art thou not of olde, O Lord my God, mine holy one? we shall not die: O Lord, thou hast ordeined them for iudgement, and O God, thou hast established them for correction.

Art not Thou of old, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O Jehovah, For judgment Thou hast appointed it, And, O Rock, for reproof Thou hast founded it.

13 Thou art of pure eyes, and canst not see euill: thou canst not behold wickednesse: wherefore doest thou looke vpon the transgressors, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked deuoureth the man, that is more righteous then he?

Purer of eyes than to behold evil, To look on perverseness Thou art not able, Why dost Thou behold the treacherous? Thou keepest silent when the wicked Doth swallow the more righteous than he,

14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, and as the creeping things, that haue no ruler ouer them.

And Thou makest man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing — none ruling over him.

15 They take vp all with the angle: they catch it in their net, and gather it in their yarne, whereof they reioyce and are glad.

Each of them with a hook he hath brought up, He doth catch it in his net, and gathereth it in his drag, Therefore he doth joy and rejoice.

16 Therefore they sacrifice vnto their net, and burne incense vnto their yarne, because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous.

Therefore he doth sacrifice to his net, And doth make perfume to his drag, For by them [is] his portion fertile, and his food fat.

17 Shall they therefore stretch out their net and not spare continually to slay the nations?

Doth he therefore empty his net, And continually to slay nations spare not?