1 The * oracle a that Habakkuk the prophet saw. b

Habakkuk’s First Prayer

2 How long, c Lord, must I call for help d

and You do not listen

or cry out to You about violence ef

and You do not save?

3 Why do You force me to look at injustice? g

Why do You tolerate h wrongdoing?

Oppression and violence are right in front of me.

Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.

4 This is why the law is ineffective

and justice never emerges.

For the wicked restrict i the righteous;

therefore, justice j comes out perverted.

God’s First Answer

5 Look at the nations k l and observe m—

be utterly astounded! n

For something is taking place in your days

that you will not believe o

when you hear about it. p

6 Look! I am raising up q the Chaldeans, r

that bitter, s impetuous nation

that marches across the earth’s open spaces

to seize territories not its own.

7 They are fierce t and terrifying;

their views of justice and sovereignty

stem from themselves.

8 Their horses are swifter u than leopards v

and more fierce w than wolves of the night.

Their horsemen charge ahead;

their horsemen come from distant lands.

They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour. x

9 All of them come to do violence;

their faces y are set in determination. z

They gather a prisoners like sand. b

10 They mock c kings,

and rulers are a joke to them.

They laugh d at every fortress

and build siege ramps to capture e it.

11 Then they sweep f by like the wind

and pass through.

They are * guilty; g their strength is their god.

Habakkuk’s Second Prayer

12 Are You not from eternity, * Yahweh my God? h

My Holy One, i You j will not die.

Lord, You appointed them to execute judgment;

my Rock, k You destined them to punish us.

13 Your eyes l are too pure m to look on evil,

and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous? n

Why are You silent

while one o who is wicked swallows up

one p who is more righteous than himself?

14 You have made mankind

like the fish of the sea, q

like marine creatures that have no ruler.

15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,

catch them in their dragnet, r

and gather them in their fishing net;

that is why they are glad and rejoice.

16 That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet

and burn incense to their fishing net,

for by these things their portion is rich

and their food plentiful. s

17 Will they therefore empty their net t

and continually slaughter nations without mercy?