Habakkuk 1
1 The oracle of which Habakkuk the prophet, had vision:
[I am] Habakkuk, a prophet. This is the [message that Yahweh] gave to me in a vision.
2 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?
[I said, ] “Yahweh, how long must I continue to call [to you] for help before you respond? I cry out to you [for help], saying that [people are acting] violently [everywhere], but you do not rescue us!
3 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?
(Must I/I do not want to) continue seeing people doing what is unjust [RHQ]. Why do you not punish people who are doing what is wrong [RHQ]? I see people destroying things and [acting] violently. There is fighting and quarreling [everywhere].
4 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?
No one obeys laws [PRS], and judges [PRS] never do what is fair/just. Wicked people always defeat righteous people [in the courts], with the result that matters are never decided fairly/justly.”
5 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.
[Yahweh replied to me, ] “[I know that what you say is true, but] look around at [what is happening in] the other nations; [if you look, ] you will be amazed, because I am doing something during this time that you would not believe [would happen], even if someone told you about it.
6 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.
The soldiers of Babylonia are fierce/cruel and swift. And now I am causing them [to become very powerful]; they will march across the world and conquer [many] other countries.
7 Awful and fearful, is he, —from himself, his decision and his uprising, proceed.
They are people whom [others] fear very much [DOU], and they do whatever they want to, paying no attention to the laws of other countries.
8 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.
The horses [that pull their chariots] go faster than leopards, and they are fiercer than wolves are in the evening. The horses on which the soldiers ride gallop swiftly; the soldiers riding them come from distant places. They are like [SIM] eagles that swoop down to [snatch and] kill small animals.
9 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;
As they ride along, [they are] determined to act violently. They advance like [SIM] a wind from the desert, gathering prisoners that are as [numerous as grains of] sand.
10 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!
They make fun of kings and princes [of other countries], and they ridicule all the cities that have high walls around them. They pile dirt [outside those walls] [in order to climb up] and capture those cities.
11 Then, hath he become arrogant in spirit, and hath committed excess, and so is guilty, —this his violence, is due to his god.
They rush past like the wind, and then they go [to attack other cities]. But they are very guilty, because [they think that] their own power is their god.”
12 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:
[Then I said, ] “Yahweh, you have certainly [RHQ] always/forever been God. You are my Holy One; you will not die. So [why] have you appointed those men [from Babylonia] to judge and get rid of [us]? You are like [MET] a huge rock [under which we are protected/safe], so why have you sent them to punish us?
13 [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?
You [SYN] are pure, and you cannot endure looking at what is evil, [so why] are you ignoring men who are treacherous? Why do you do nothing [to punish] those wicked men [from Babylonia] who destroy people who are more righteous than they [are]?
14 So wouldst thou have made Men, like the fishes of the sea, —like the creeping thing that hath no ruler over it:
[Do you consider that] we are like fish in the sea, or like other creatures in the sea, that have no ruler?
15 All of which, with a hook, one bringeth up, raketh together with his drag, and hath gathered with his net, —
[The soldiers of Babylonia think that we are fish] [RHQ] for them to pull out of the sea with hooks or to catch in their nets, while they rejoice and celebrate.
16 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!
If they catch us, they will [worship] their weapons [MET] with which they captured us, and offer sacrifices to them and burn incense in front of them! [They will say] ‘Those weapons have enabled us to become rich and be able to eat expensive food.’
17 Shall he, on this account, empty his net? And, the continual slaying of nations, deem to be no pity?
[Will you allow] them to continue [to conquer people] [MET] forever? [Will you allow] them to destroy people of other nations without their being merciful [to anyone]?”
