< Habacuc Propheta 1 >
1 Onus quod vidit Habacuc propheta.
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 Usquequo, Domine, clamabo, et non exaudies? vociferabor ad te, vim patiens, et non salvabis?
Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save.
3 Quare ostendisti mihi iniquitatem et laborem, videre prædam et injustitiam contra me? Et factum est judicium, et contradictio potentior.
Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.
4 Propter hoc lacerata est lex, et non pervenit usque ad finem judicium; quia impius prævalet adversus justum, propterea egreditur judicium perversum.
Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
5 Aspicite in gentibus, et videte; admiramini, et obstupescite: quia opus factum est in diebus vestris, quod nemo credet cum narrabitur.
See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for [I] work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared [to you].
6 Quia ecce ego suscitabo Chaldæos, gentem amaram et velocem, ambulantem super latitudinem terræ, ut possideat tabernacula non sua.
For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.
7 Horribilis et terribilis est: ex semetipsa judicium et onus ejus egredietur.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Leviores pardis equi ejus, et velociores lupis vespertinis: et diffundentur equites ejus: equites namque ejus de longe venient; volabunt quasi aquila festinans ad comedendum.
And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.
9 Omnes ad prædam venient, facies eorum ventus urens; et congregabit quasi arenam captivitatem.
They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand.
10 Et ipse de regibus triumphabit, et tyranni ridiculi ejus erunt; ipse super omnem munitionem ridebit, et comportabit aggerem, et capiet eam.
Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.
11 Tunc mutabitur spiritus, et pertransibit, et corruet: hæc est fortitudo ejus dei sui.
Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his god.
12 Numquid non tu a principio, Domine, Deus meus, sancte meus, et non moriemur? Domine, in judicium posuisti eum, et fortem, ut corriperes, fundasti eum.
— Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.
13 Mundi sunt oculi tui, ne videas malum, et respicere ad iniquitatem non poteris. Quare respicis super iniqua agentes, et taces devorante impio justiorem se?
[Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he?
14 Et facies homines quasi pisces maris, et quasi reptile non habens principem.
And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them.
15 Totum in hamo sublevavit, traxit illud in sagena sua, et congregavit in rete suum. Super hoc lætabitur, et exsultabit.
He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:
16 Propterea immolabit sagenæ suæ, et sacrificabit reti suo, quia in ipsis incrassata est pars ejus, et cibus ejus electus.
therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty.
17 Propter hoc ergo expandit sagenam suam, et semper interficere gentes non parcet.
Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?