Habakkuk 1
1 The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen:
This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision:
2 Till when, O Jehovah, have I cried, And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee — 'Violence,' and Thou dost 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 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,
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 doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth 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 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.
“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, 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.
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 Terrible and fearful it [is], From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.
They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty.
8 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.
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 Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.
All of them come bent on violence; their hordes advance like the east wind; they gather prisoners like sand.
10 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.
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 passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe 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 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.
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, 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,
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 Thou makest man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing — none ruling over him.
You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler.
15 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.
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 doth sacrifice to his net, And doth make perfume to his drag, 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 Doth he therefore empty his net, And continually to slay nations spare not?
Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?
