or apparent, inactivity of God in the light of adversity and hardship. The prophet’s initial words are a prayer of lament concerning injustice in Judah and in its capital city Jerusalem. But, more than that, Habakkuk is questioning the lack of response by God to the violence, adversity and injustice that prevail among his people. How can God sit idly by? Is he at work or not? In these early verses of the book, the prophet is confronted with the question of theodicy—namely, the ostensible