The 1 aoracle which
Habakkuk
the prophet
saw
.
aHow long
, O LORD
, will I call
for help
, And You will not hear
? I cry
out to You, "Violence
!" Yet You do bnot save
.
Why do You make
me asee
iniquity
, And cause me to look
on wickedness
? Yes, bdestruction
and violence
are before
me; cStrife
exists
and contention
arises
.
Therefore the alaw
is 1ignored
And justice
2is never
upheld
. For the wicked
bsurround
the righteous
; Therefore
justice
comes
out cperverted
.
" aLook among the nations
! Observe
! Be astonished
! bWonder
! Because
I am doing
csomething
in your days
-- You would not believe
if
1you were told
.
"For behold, I am araising
up the Chaldeans
, That 1fierce
and impetuous
people
Who march
2throughout
the earth
To 3 bseize
dwelling
places
which are not theirs.
"They are dreaded and afeared
; Their bjustice
and 1authority
2originate
with themselves.
"Their ahorses are swifter
than
leopards
And 1keener
than
bwolves
in the evening
. Their 2horsemen
come
galloping
, Their horsemen
come
from afar
; They fly
like an ceagle
swooping
down to devour
.
"All of them come
for violence
. 1Their horde
of afaces
moves forward
. They collect
captives
like sand
.
"They amock at kings
And rulers
are a laughing
matter to them. They blaugh
at every
fortress
And cheap
up rubble
to capture
it.
"Then they will sweep
through
like the awind
and pass
on. But they will be held
bguilty
, They whose
cstrength
is their god
."
Are You not from aeverlasting, O LORD
, my God
, my Holy
One
? We will not die
. You, O LORD
, have bappointed
them to judge
; And You, O cRock
, have established
them to correct
.
Your eyes are too
apure
to 1approve
evil
, And You can
not look
on wickedness
with favor. Why
do You blook
with favor On those who deal
ctreacherously
? Why are You dsilent
when the wicked
eswallow
up Those more
righteous
than
they?
Why have You made men
like the fish
of the sea
, Like creeping
things
without
a ruler
over them?
The Chaldeans abring all
of them up with a hook
, bDrag
them away
with their net
, And gather
them together in their fishing
net
. Therefore
they rejoice
and are glad
.
Therefore they offer
a sacrifice
to their net
And 1burn
incense
to their fishing
net
; Because
through athese
things
their 2catch
is 3large
, And their food
is 4plentiful
.
Will they therefore empty
their anet
And continually
bslay
nations
without
sparing
?