in the world of international affairs, especially as these affect the people of Yahweh. We might then call it a discussion of theodicy, though that construct imports much modern baggage. And its stress on waiting and steadfastness, and its prayer (2:3–4; 3:2, 16), indicate that it is not merely a discussion of a theological or apologetic question but a pastoral tract. Habakkuk 3:19a, its last line (apart from the closing rubric), suggests what it seeks for its hearers. “The book aims to involve its