3 Or “deliver.”
4 Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”
5 Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?” Habakkuk complains that God tolerates social injustice and fails to intervene on behalf of the oppressed (put up with wrongdoing).
6 Heb “are before.”
7 Heb “and there is conflict and strife he lifts up.” The present translation takes the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) in the sense of “carry, bear,” and understands the subject to be indefinite (“one”).
8 Heb “the law is numb,” i.e., like a hand that has “fallen asleep” (see Ps 77:2). Cf. “is benumbed”; “is paralyzed.”
9 Heb “never goes out.”
10 Or “for.”
11 Heb “surround” (so , ).
12 Or “righteous” (, , , , ).
13 Heb “comes out crooked.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you “Violence!”

and you will not save?

Why do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

So the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

so justice goes forth perverted.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

How long, Lord, must I call for help,

but you do not listen?

Or cry out to you, “Violence!”

but you do not save?

Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me;

there is strife, and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed,

and justice never prevails.

The wicked hem in the righteous,

so that justice is perverted.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

How long, Lord, must I call for help

and you do not listen

or cry out to you about violence

and you do not save?

Why do you force me to look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Oppression and violence are right in front of me.

Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.

This is why the law is ineffective

and justice never emerges.

For the wicked restrict the righteous;

therefore, justice comes out perverted.

NLTNew Living Translation

How long, O Lord, must I call for help?

But you do not listen!

“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,

but you do not come to save.

Must I forever see these evil deeds?

Why must I watch all this misery?

Wherever I look,

I see destruction and violence.

I am surrounded by people

who love to argue and fight.

The law has become paralyzed,

and there is no justice in the courts.

The wicked far outnumber the righteous,

so that justice has become perverted.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

O Yahweh, how long shall I cry for help

and you will not listen?

How long will I cry out to you, “Violence!”

and you will not save?

Why do you cause me to see evil

while you look at trouble?

Destruction and violence happen before me;

contention and strife arise.

Therefore the law is paralyzed,

and justice does not go forth perpetually.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

therefore justice goes forth perverted.

KJV 1900King James Version

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!

Even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?

For spoiling and violence are before me:

And there are that raise up strife and contention.

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth:

For the wicked doth compass about the righteous;

Therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

Public Domain