Habakkuk 1

1 The burden that Habakkuk the prophet has seen:

The oracle of which Habakkuk the prophet, had vision:

2 Until when, O YHWH, have I cried, And You do not hear? I cry to You, “Violence!” And You do not save.

How long, O Yahweh, have I called out, and thou wouldst not hear me? Have I kept crying unto thee of violence, and thou wouldst not save?

3 Why do You show me iniquity, And cause [me] to behold perversity? And spoiling and violence [are] before me, And there is strife, and contention lifts [itself] up,

Wherefore shouldst thou let me see iniquity, and, wrong, shouldst let me behold, and, force and violence, be straight before me, —and there should have ever been someone who, contention and strife, would uphold?

4 Therefore law ceases, And judgment does not go forth forever, For the wicked is surrounding the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goes forth.

For which cause, benumbed is the law, and there is never any going forth of justice, —for, the lawless, doth circumvent the righteous, for which cause, justice doth go forth perverted?

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

Behold ye, among the nations, and look around, Yea stand stock still—stare, —for, a work, is being wrought in your days, ye will not believe, when it is recounted.

6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy dwelling places not his own.

For, behold me! raising up the Chaldeans, the bitter and headlong nation, —that marcheth to the breadths of the earth, to take possession of habitations, not his.

7 He [is] terrible and fearful, His judgment and his excellence go forth from him.

Awful and fearful, is he, —from himself, his decision and his uprising, proceed.

8 His horses have been swifter than leopards, And sharper than evening wolves, And his horsemen have increased, Even his horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hastening to consume.

Then, swifter than leopards, are his horses, and, more sharply they attack, than evening wolves, and forward have leapt his chargers, —Yea, his chargers, from afar, will come in, they will fly as an eagle hath hastened to devour.

9 All for violence—he comes in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And he gathers a captivity as the sand.

Solely for violence, will he come, the intent of their faces, is—To the east! And he hath gathered, as the sand, a captive host;

10 And he scoffs at kings, And princes [are] a laughter to him, He laughs at every fortification, And he heaps up dust, and captures it.

And, he, over kings, will make merry, and, nobles, will be a scorn to him: he, at any fortress, will laugh, once he hath heaped up dust, he hath captured it!

11 Then the spirit has passed on, Indeed, he transgresses, And [ascribes] this—his power—to his god.”

Then, hath he become arrogant in spirit, and hath committed excess, and so is guilty, —this his violence, is due to his god.

12 Are You not of old, O YHWH, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O YHWH, You have appointed him for judgment, And, O Rock, You have founded him for reproof.

Art not, thou, from of old, O Yahweh, my God, my Holy One? Thou diest not! O Yahweh, to judgment, hast thou appointed him, and, O Rock, to correction, hast thou devoted him:

13 Purer of eyes than to behold evil, You are not able to look on perverseness, Why do You behold the treacherous? You keep silent when the wicked Swallow the more righteous than he,

[Thou] whose eyes are too pure to look with approval on wrong, to respect oppression, canst not endure, —Wherefore, shouldst thou respect the treacherous? Be silent, when the lawless, swalloweth up, one more righteous than he?

14 And You make man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing [with] none ruling over him.

So wouldst thou have made Men, like the fishes of the sea, —like the creeping thing that hath no ruler over it:

15 He has brought up each of them with a hook, He catches it in his net, and gathers it in his dragnet, Therefore he delights and rejoices.

All of which, with a hook, one bringeth up, raketh together with his drag, and hath gathered with his net, —

16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net, And makes incense to his dragnet, For by them [is] his portion fertile, and his food fat.

On which account, he is glad and exulteth: on which account, he sacrificeth to his Net, and burneth incense to his Drag; because, thereby, rich, is his portion, and his food—fatness!

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

Shall he, on this account, empty his net? And, the continual slaying of nations, deem to be no pity?