Habakkuk 1

1 The burden that Habakkuk the prophet has seen:

This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a 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 LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do 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,

Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds.

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

Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is 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.

“Look at the nations and observe— be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.

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, I am raising up the Chaldeans — that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.

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

They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty.

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.

Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.

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

All of them come bent on violence; their hordes advance like the east wind; they gather prisoners like sand.

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.

They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it.

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

Then they sweep by like the wind and pass on through. They are guilty; their own strength is their 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.

Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction.

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,

Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

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

You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler.

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.

The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly.

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

Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.

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

Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?