1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Question
2 OLord, how long shall I cry,
# And You will not hear?
# Even cry out to You,“Violence!”
# And You willnot save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And causemeto see trouble?
For plundering and violencearebefore me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
# For thewicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5 “Lookamong the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
ForIwillwork a work in your days
Whichyou would not believe, though it were toldyou.
6 For indeed I amraising up the Chaldeans,
# A bitter and hastynation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling placesthatarenot theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also areswifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
# They fly as theeaglethathastens to eat.
9 “They all come for violence;
Their faces are setlikethe east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthenmoundsand seize it.
11 Thenhismind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
# Ascribingthis power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
12 Are You notfrom everlasting,
OLordmy God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
# OLord,You have appointed them for judgment;
# O Rock, You have marked them forcorrection.
13 Youareof purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
Andhold Your tongue when the wicked devours
Apersonmore righteous than he?
14 Whydo You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping thingsthathaveno ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Thereforethey sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their shareissumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?