Habakkuk 1
1 The pronouncementa that the prophet Habakkuk saw.b
2 How long,c Lord, must I call for helpd
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violencee
and you do not save?
3 Why do you force me to look at injustice?f
Why do you tolerate* 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 restrictg the righteous;
therefore, justiceh comes out perverted.
5 Look at the nationsB,i and observej—
be utterly astounded!k
For I am doing something in your days
that you will not believel
when you hear about it.m
6 Look! I am raising upn the Chaldeans,C
that bitter,o impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fiercep and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifterq than leopardsr
and more fierceD than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like eagles, swooping to devour.s
9 All of them come to do violence;
their facest are set in determination.E
They gatheru prisoners like sand.v
10 They mockw kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laughx at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capturey it.
11 Then they sweepz by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty;F their strength is their god.
12 Are you not from eternity, Lord my God?aa
My Holy One,ab youG will not die.
Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock,ac you destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyesad are too pureae to look on evil,
and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous?af
Why are you silent
while oneH who is wicked swallows up
oneI who is more righteous than himself?
like the fish of the sea,ag
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,ah
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.ai
17 Will they therefore empty their net and continually slaughter nations without mercy?