Habakkuk 1:1–4
Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1 The 1aoracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 aHow long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do bnot save.
3 Why do You make me asee iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, bdestruction and violence are before me;
cStrife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the alaw is 1ignored
And justice 2is never upheld.
For the wicked bsurround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out cperverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
3 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.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — English Standard Version (ESV)
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 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.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!
Even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3 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.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth:
For the wicked doth compass about the righteous;
Therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 This is the message Habakkuk the prophet received.
2 Lord, how long must I ask for help
and you ignore me?
I cry out to you about violence,
but you do not save us!
3 Why do you make me see wrong things
and make me look at trouble?
People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me;
they are arguing and fighting.
4 So the teachings are weak,
and justice never comes.
Evil people gain while good people lose;
the judges no longer make fair decisions.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 O Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. 3 Why dost thou show me iniquity, and look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save. 3 Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 The divine revelation that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help,
but you will not listen?
I cry out to you, “There’s violence!”
yet you will not come to the rescue.
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing?
And why do you watch wickedness?
Destruction and violence are in front of me.
Quarrels and disputes arise.
4 That is why your teaching is numbed,
and justice is never carried out.
Wicked people surround righteous people
so that when justice is carried out, it’s perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 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?
3 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.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict the righteous;
therefore, justice comes out perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing
and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 So the law becomes slack
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous—
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 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?
3 Why do you cause me to see evil
while you look at trouble?
Destruction and violence happen before me;
contention and strife arise.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice does not go forth perpetually.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
therefore justice goes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 This is a vision the prophet Habakkuk received from the Lord. Here is what Habakkuk said.
2 Lord, how long do I have to call out for help?
Why don’t you listen to me?
How long must I keep telling you
that things are terrible?
Why don’t you save us?
3 Why do you make me watch while
people treat others so unfairly?
Why do you put up with the wrong things
they are doing?
I have to look at death.
People are harming others.
They are arguing and fighting all the time.
4 The law can’t do what it’s supposed to do.
Fairness never comes out on top.
Sinful people surround those
who do what is right.
So people are never treated fairly.