1The prophecya that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2How long,b LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?c
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?d
3Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you toleratee wrongdoing?f
Destruction and violenceg are before me;
there is strife,h and conflict abounds.
4Therefore the lawi is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
The LORD’s Answer
5“Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.l
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.m
6I am raising up the Babylonians,1,n
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole eartho
to seize dwellings not their own.p
7They are a feared and dreaded people;q
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8Their horses are swifterr than leopards,
fiercer than wolvess at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes2 advance like a desert wind
and gather prisonerst like sand.
10They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.u
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen rampsv they capture them.
11Then they sweep past like the windw and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”x
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12LORD, are you not from everlasting?y
My God, my Holy One,z you3 will never die.a
You, LORD, have appointedb them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,c have ordained them to punish.
13Your eyes are too pured to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.e
Why then do you toleratef the treacherous?g
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?h
14You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15The wickedi foe pulls all of them up with hooks,j
he catches them in his net,k
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incensel to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?m
The LORD’s Answer
2Then the LORD replied:
“Writee down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald2 may run with it.
3For the revelation awaits an appointed time;f
it speaks of the endg
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, waith for it;
it3 will certainly come
and will not delay.i
4“See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous personj will live by his faithfulness4,k—
he is arrogantm and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,n
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captiveo all the peoples.
6“Will not all of them tauntp him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“ ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!q
How long must this go on?’
7Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.r
8Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.s
For you have shed human blood;t
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.u
9“Woe to him who buildsv his house by unjust gain,w
setting his nestx on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10You have plotted the ruiny of many peoples,
shamingz your own house and forfeiting your life.
11The stonesa of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshedb
and establishes a town by injustice!
13Has not the LORD Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,c
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?d
14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glorye of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.f
15“Woe to him who gives drinkg to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16You will be filled with shameh instead of glory.i
Now it is your turn! Drinkj and let your nakedness be exposed5!k
The cupl from the LORD’s right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17The violencem you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.n
For you have shed human blood;o
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18“Of what valuep is an idolq carved by a craftsman?
Or an imager that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.s
19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’t
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;u
there is no breath in it.”v
20The LORD is in his holy temple;w
let all the earth be silentx before him.
Habakkuk’s Prayer
1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.1,a
2LORD, I have heardb of your fame;
I stand in awec of your deeds, LORD.d
Repeate them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.f
the Holy Oneh from Mount Paran.2,i
His glory covered the heavensj
and his praise filled the earth.k
4His splendor was like the sunrise;l
rays flashed from his hand,
where his powerm was hidden.
pestilence followed his steps.
6He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbledo
and the age-old hillsp collapsedq—
but he marches on forever.r
7I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midians in anguish.t
8Were you angry with the rivers,u LORD?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the seav
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?w
9You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.x
You split the earth with rivers;
10the mountains saw you and writhed.y
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roaredz
and lifted its wavesa on high.
11Sun and moon stood stillb in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,c
at the lightningd of your flashing spear.
12In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshede the nations.
13You came outf to deliverg your people,
to save your anointedh one.
You crushedi the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,j
gloating as though about to devour
the wretchedk who were in hiding.
15You trampled the seal with your horses,
churning the great waters.m
16I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.n
Yet I will wait patientlyo for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,p
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,q
18yet I will rejoice in the LORD,r
I will be joyful in God my Savior.s
19The Sovereign LORD is my strength;t
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.u
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.