Habakkuk 1:1–11

1The ¹burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

The Prophet’s Question

²O Lord, how long shall I cry,

^aAnd You will not hear?

Even cry out to You, ^b“Violence!”

And You will ^cnot save.

³Why do You show me iniquity,

And cause me to see ²trouble?

For plundering and violence are before me;

There is strife, and contention arises.

⁴Therefore the law is powerless,

And justice never goes forth.

For the ^dwicked surround the righteous;

Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

The Lord’s Reply

⁵“Look ^eamong 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.

⁶For indeed I am ^fraising up the Chaldeans,

A bitter and hasty ^gnation

Which marches through the breadth of the earth,

To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.

⁷They are terrible and dreadful;

Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

⁸Their horses also are ^hswifter than leopards,

And more fierce than evening wolves.

Their ³chargers ⁴charge ahead;

Their cavalry comes from afar;

They fly as the ⁱeagle that hastens to eat.

⁹“They all come for violence;

Their faces are set like the east wind.

They gather captives like sand.

¹⁰They scoff at kings,

And princes are scorned by them.

They deride every stronghold,

For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.

¹¹Then his ⁵mind changes, and he transgresses;

He commits offense,

^jAscribing this power to his god.”