who are much more cruel and inhumane than those who are being punished (1:12–17)? Habakkuk expectantly awaits a response (2:1), which comes when Yahweh promises judgment for Babylonia (2:2–20). God’s second answer thus relates to the conquest of Babylonia by the Persians in 539 BC (see above). Habakkuk responds to this assurance of God’s justice and love in a psalm of worship (ch. 3), which recalls God’s coming to meet Israel at Sinai (3:3–7) and his acting as a mighty warrior on her behalf (3:8–15).