Habakkuk 1

1 The prophecy which was revealed to the prophet Habakkuk.

The burden which the prophet Ambacum saw.

2 How long, O Jehovah, do I cry, and thou dost not hear! How long do I complain to thee of violence, and thou dost not save!

How long, O Lord, shall I cry out, and thou wilt not hearken? [how long] shall I cry out to thee being injured, and thou wilt not save?

3 Why dost thou suffer me to see iniquity, And why dost thou look upon wickedness? For spoiling and violence are before me; There is contention, and strife exalteth itself.

Wherefore hast thou shown me troubles and griefs to look upon, misery and ungodliness? judgment is before me, and the judge receives a reward.

4 Therefore the law faileth, And judgment is not pronounced according to truth; For the wicked encompasseth the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment is pronounced.

Therefore the law is frustrated, and judgment proceeds not effectually, for the ungodly [man] prevails over the just; therefore perverse judgment will proceed.

5 Behold ye among the nations, and look! Yea, wonder, and be astonished! For I do a work in your days Which ye will not believe though it be told you.

Behold, ye despisers, and look, and wonder marvelously, and vanish: for I work a work in your days, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare [it to you].

6 For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, A fierce and swift people, Which go over the breadth of the earth, To take possession of dwelling-places that are not their own.

Wherefore, behold, I stir up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, that walks upon the breadth of the earth, to inherit tabernacles not his own.

7 They are terrible and dreadful; From themselves go forth their law and their dignity.

He is terrible and famous; his judgment shall proceed of himself, and his dignity shall come out of himself.

8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, And fiercer than evening wolves. Their horsemen leap proudly; Their horsemen come from far; They fly like an eagle, hastening to devour.

And his horses shall bound [more swiftly] than leopards, and [they are] fiercer than the wolves of Arabia: and his horsemen shall ride forth, and shall rush from far; and they shall fly as an eagle hasting to eat.

9 All of them come for violence; The multitude of their faces is directed forwards, And they gather captives as sand.

Destruction shall come upon ungodly men, resisting with their adverse front, and he shall gather the captivity as the sand.

10 They also scoff at kings, And princes are to them a laughing-stock; They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earth and take it.

And he shall be at his ease with kings, and princes are his toys, and he shall mock at every strong-hold, and shall cast a mound, and take possession of it.

11 Then their spirit is uplifted, and they transgress, and become guilty; This their strength is made their god.

Then shall he change his spirit, and he shall pass through, and make an atonement, [saying], This strength [belongs] to my god.

12 Art thou not from everlasting, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We shall not die! Thou, O Jehovah, hast appointed them for judgment; Thou, O Rock, hast ordained them for chastisement.

[Art] not thou from the beginning, O Lord God, my Holy One? and surely we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast established it for judgment, and he has formed me to chasten [with] his correction.

13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, And canst not look on wickedness; Why then dost thou look on transgressors, And art silent, when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he?

[His] eye is too pure to behold evil [doings], and to look upon grievous afflictions: wherefore dost thou look upon despisers? wilt thou be silent when the ungodly swallows up the just?

14 And why makest thou men as the fishes of the sea, As the reptiles that have no ruler?

And wilt thou make men as the fishes of the sea, and as the reptiles which have no guide?

15 They take up all of them with the hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their drag; Therefore they rejoice and exult.

He has brought up destruction with a hook, and drawn one with a casting net, and caught another in his drags: therefore shall his heart rejoice and be glad.

16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their drag; Because by them their portion is fat, And their food plenteous.

Therefore will he sacrifice to his drag, and burn incense to his casting-net, because by them he has made his portion fat, and his meats choice.

17 Shall they therefore empty the net, And slay the nations continually without mercy?

Therefore will he cast his net, and will not spare to slay the nations continually.