Habakkuk 1
New American Standard Bible 1995
Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1 The [a](A)oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 (B)How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do (C)not save.
3 Why do You make me (D)see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, (E)destruction and violence are before me;
(F)Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the (G)law is [b]ignored
And justice [c]is never upheld.
For the wicked (H)surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out (I)perverted.
5 “(J)Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! (K)Wonder!
Because I am doing (L)something in your days—
You would not believe if [d]you were told.
6 “For behold, I am (M)raising up the Chaldeans,
That [e]fierce and impetuous people
Who march [f]throughout the earth
To [g](N)seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and (O)feared;
Their (P)justice and [h]authority [i]originate with themselves.
8 “Their (Q)horses are swifter than leopards
And [j]keener than (R)wolves in the evening.
Their [k]horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an (S)eagle swooping down to devour.
9 “All of them come for violence.
[l]Their horde of (T)faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10 “They (U)mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They (V)laugh at every fortress
And (W)heap up rubble to capture it.
11 “Then they will sweep through like the (X)wind and pass on.
But they will be held (Y)guilty,
They whose (Z)strength is their god.”
12 Are You not from (AA)everlasting,
O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, O Lord, have (AB)appointed them to judge;
And You, O (AC)Rock, have established them to correct.
13 Your eyes are too (AD)pure to [m]approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You (AE)look with favor
On those who deal (AF)treacherously?
Why are You (AG)silent when the wicked (AH)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans (AI)bring all of them up with a hook,
(AJ)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [n]burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through (AK)these things their [o]catch is [p]large,
And their food is [q]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their (AL)net
And continually (AM)slay nations without sparing?
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:1 Or burden
- Habakkuk 1:4 Or ineffective; lit numbed
- Habakkuk 1:4 Lit never goes forth
- Habakkuk 1:5 Lit it
- Habakkuk 1:6 Lit bitter
- Habakkuk 1:6 Lit the breadth of
- Habakkuk 1:6 Lit take possession of
- Habakkuk 1:7 Lit eminence
- Habakkuk 1:7 Lit proceeds from
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or more eager to attack
- Habakkuk 1:8 Or steeds paw the ground
- Habakkuk 1:9 Or The eagerness of their faces
- Habakkuk 1:13 Lit look at
- Habakkuk 1:16 Or sacrifice
- Habakkuk 1:16 Lit portion
- Habakkuk 1:16 Lit fat; or plentiful
- Habakkuk 1:16 Lit the fat portion
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
