Habakkuk 1:5–10
5 g“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
hFor I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, iI am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
jwho march through the breadth of the earth,
kto seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
ltheir justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 mTheir horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than nthe evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
othey fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come pfor violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives rlike sand.
and at rulers they laugh.
sThey laugh at every fortress,
for tthey pile up earth and take it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — The New International Version (NIV)
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously:
For I will work a work in your days,
Which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation,
Which shall march through the breadth of the land,
To possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful:
Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards,
And are more fierce than the evening wolves:
And their horsemen shall spread themselves,
And their horsemen shall come from far;
They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
9 They shall come all for violence:
Their faces shall sup up as the east wind,
And they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10 And they shall scoff at the kings,
And the princes shall be a scorn unto them:
They shall deride every strong hold;
For they shall heap dust, and take it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — New Living Translation (NLT)
5 The Lord replied,
“Look around at the nations;
look and be amazed!
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
a cruel and violent people.
They will march across the world
and conquer other lands.
7 They are notorious for their cruelty
and do whatever they like.
8 Their horses are swifter than cheetahs
and fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their charioteers charge from far away.
Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.
9 “On they come, all bent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind,
sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.
10 They scoff at kings and princes
and scorn all their fortresses.
They simply pile ramps of earth
against their walls and capture them!
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
5 “Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
9 “They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the 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 earthen mounds and seize it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — New Century Version (NCV)
5 “Look at the nations!
Watch them and be amazed and shocked.
I will do something in your lifetime
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it.
6 I will use the Babylonians,
those cruel and wild people
who march across the earth
and take lands that don’t belong to them.
7 They scare and frighten people.
They do what they want to do
and are good only to themselves.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and quicker than wolves at sunset.
Their horse soldiers attack quickly;
they come from places far away.
They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.
9 They all come to fight.
Nothing can stop them.
Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.
10 They laugh at kings
and make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all the strong, walled cities
and build dirt piles to the top of the walls to capture them.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — American Standard Version (ASV)
5 Behold ye among the nations, and look, and wonder marvellously; for I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you. 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen press proudly on: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. 9 They come all of them for violence; the set of their faces is forwards; and they gather captives as the sand. 10 Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him; he derideth every stronghold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
5 See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for I work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared to you. 6 For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. 9 They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand. 10 Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
5 Look among the nations and watch.
Be amazed and astonished.
I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe even if it were reported to you.
6 I am going to send the Babylonians,
that fierce and reckless nation.
They will march throughout the earth
to take possession of lands that don’t belong to them.
7 They will be terrifying and fearsome.
They will carry out their own kind of justice and honor.
8 Their horses will be faster than leopards
and quicker than wolves in the evening.
Their riders will gallop along proudly.
Their riders will come from far away.
They will fly like an eagle that swoops down for its prey.
9 They will all come for violence.
Every face will be directed forward.
They will gather prisoners like sand.
10 They will make fun of kings and treat rulers as a joke.
They will laugh at every fortified city
and build a dirt ramp to capture it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
5 Look at the nations and observe —
be utterly astounded!
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believe
when you hear about it.
6 Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter, impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards
and more fierce than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces are set in determination.
They gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
5 Look at the nations, and see!
Be astonished! Be astounded!
For a work is being done in your days
that you would not believe if you were told.
6 For I am rousing the Chaldeans,
that fierce and impetuous nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
7 Dread and fearsome are they;
their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more menacing than wolves at dusk;
their horses charge.
Their horsemen come from far away;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come for violence,
with faces pressing forward;
they gather captives like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and of rulers they make sport.
They laugh at every fortress,
and heap up earth to take it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
5 “Look among the nations and see;
be astonished and astounded.
For a work is about to be done in your days
that you will not believe if it is told.
6 For look! I am raising up the Chaldeans,
the bitter and impetuous nation,
the one who walks through the spacious places of earth
to take possession of dwellings not belonging to it.
7 They are dreadful and awesome;
their justice and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses are more swift than leopards;
they are more menacing than wolves at dusk.
Their horsemen gallop; their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an eagle that is swift to devour.
9 All of them come for violence,
their faces pressing forward.
They gather captives like the sand.
10 And they themselves scoff at kings
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortification,
and they heap up earth and take it.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
5 The Lord replies,
“Look at the nations. Watch them.
Be totally amazed at what you see.
I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe.
You would not believe it
even if someone told you about it.
6 I am going to send the armies of Babylonia to attack you.
They are very mean. They move quickly.
They sweep across the whole earth.
They take over places
that do not belong to them.
7 They terrify others.
They do not recognize any laws but their own.
That is how proud they are.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards.
They are meaner than wolves in the dark.
Their horsemen charge straight into battle.
They ride in from far away.
They come down like an eagle
diving for its food.
9 All of them are ready to destroy others.
Their huge armies advance like a wind out of the desert.
They gather prisoners like sand.
10 They laugh at kings
and make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all of the cities
that have high walls around them.
They build dirt ramps against the walls
and capture the cities.
Habakkuk 1:5–10 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
5 “Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe if you were told.
6 “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That fierce and impetuous people
Who march throughout the earth
To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
8 “Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than wolves in the evening.
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
9 “All of them come for violence.
Their horde of faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10 “They mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They laugh at every fortress
And heap up rubble to capture it.