1 The burden, which Habakkuk the Prophet did see. 2 O Lord, howe long shall I crye, and thou wilt not heare! euen crye out vnto thee for violence, and thou wilt not helpe! 3 Why doest thou shewe mee iniquitie, and cause me to beholde sorowe? for spoyling, and violence are before me: and there are that rayse vp strife and contention. 4 Therefore the Lawe is dissolued, and iudgement doeth neuer go forth: for the wicked doeth compasse about the righteous: therefore wrong iudgement proceedeth. 5 Beholde among the heathen, and regarde, and wonder, and maruaile: for I will worke a worke in your dayes: yee will not beleeue it, though it be tolde you. 6 For lo, I raise vp the Caldeans, that bitter and furious nation, which shall goe vpon the breadth of the lande to possesse the dwelling places, that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and fearefull: their iudgement and their dignitie shall proceede of theselues. 8 Their horses also are swifter then the leopards, and are more fierce then the wolues in the euening: and their horsemen are many: and their horsemen shall come from farre: they shall flie as the eagle hasting to meate. 9 They come all to spoyle: before their faces shalbe an Eastwinde, and they shall gather the captiuitie, as the sand. 10 And they shall mocke the Kings, and the princes shalbe a skorne vnto them: they shall deride euery strong holde: for they shall gather dust, and take it. 11 Then shall they take a courage, and transgresse and doe wickedly, imputing this their power vnto their god. 12 Art thou not of olde, O Lord my God, mine holy one? we shall not die: O Lord, thou hast ordeined them for iudgement, and O God, thou hast established them for correction. 13 Thou art of pure eyes, and canst not see euill: thou canst not behold wickednesse: wherefore doest thou looke vpon the transgressors, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked deuoureth the man, that is more righteous then he? 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, and as the creeping things, that haue no ruler ouer them. 15 They take vp all with the angle: they catch it in their net, and gather it in their yarne, whereof they reioyce and are glad. 16 Therefore they sacrifice vnto their net, and burne incense vnto their yarne, because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous. 17 Shall they therefore stretch out their net and not spare continually to slay the nations?
1 This is the message that the Lord revealed to the prophet Habakkuk.
Habakkuk Complains of Injustice
2 O Lord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence? 3 Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere. 4 The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.
The Lord's Reply
5 Then the Lord said to his people, “Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it. 6 I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands. 7 They spread fear and terror, and in their pride they are a law to themselves.
8 “Their horses are faster than leopards, fiercer than hungry wolves. Their cavalry troops come riding from distant lands; their horses paw the ground. They come swooping down like eagles attacking their prey.
9 “Their armies advance in violent conquest, and everyone is terrified as they approach. Their captives are as numerous as grains of sand. 10 They treat kings with contempt and laugh at high officials. No fortress can stop them—they pile up earth against it and capture it. 11 Then they sweep on like the wind and are gone, these men whose power is their god.”
Habakkuk Complains to the Lord Again
12 Lord, from the very beginning you are God. You are my God, holy and eternal. Lord, my God and protector, you have chosen the Babylonians and made them strong so that they can punish us. 13 But how can you stand these treacherous, evil men? Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong. So why are you silent while they destroy people who are more righteous than they are?
14 How can you treat people like fish or like a swarm of insects that have no ruler to direct them? 15 The Babylonians catch people with hooks, as though they were fish. They drag them off in nets and shout for joy over their catch! 16 They even worship their nets and offer sacrifices to them, because their nets provide them with the best of everything.
17 Are they going to use their swords forever and keep on destroying nations without mercy?