| International Standard Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk perceived. | 1The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. |
| 2"How long, LORD, must I cry out for help, but you won't listen? I'm crying out to you, 'Violence!' but you aren't providing deliverance. | 2How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save. |
| 3Why are you forcing me to look at iniquity and to stare at wickedness? Social havoc and oppression are all around me; there are legal conflicts, and disputes abound. | 3Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. |
| 4Therefore, the Law has become paralyzed, and justice never comes about. Because criminals outnumber the righteous, whenever judgments are issued, they come out crooked." | 4Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted. |
| 5"Look out at the nations and pay attention! Be astounded! Be really astounded! Because something is happening in your lifetime that you won't believe, even if it were described down to the smallest detail. | 5"Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told. |
| 6Watch out! For I am bringing in the Chaldeans, that cruel and impetuous people, who sweep across the earth dispossessing people from homes not their own. | 6"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. |
| 7They are terrible and fearsome; their brand of justice and sense of honor derive only from themselves! | 7"They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves. |
| 8Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures. | 8"Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. |
| 9"They all come to oppress— hordes of them, their faces pressing onward— they take prisoners as numerous as the desert sand! | 9"All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. |
| 10They make fun of kings, deriding those who rule. They laugh at all of the fortified places, constructing ramps to seize them. | 10"They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it. |
| 11Then like the wind sweeping by they will pass through— they're guilty because they say their power is their god." | 11"Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god." |
| 12"Haven't you existed forever, LORD my God, my Holy One? We won't die! LORD, you've prepared them for judgment; Rock, you've sentenced them to correction. | 12Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. |
| 13Your eyes are too pure to gaze upon evil; and you cannot tolerate wickedness. So why do you tolerate the treacherous? And why do you stay silent while the wicked devour those who are more righteous than they are? | 13Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? |
| 14"You have fashioned mankind like fish in the ocean, like creeping things that have no ruler. | 14Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? |
| 15The adversary captures them with a hook, gathering them up in a fishing net. He collects them with a dragnet, rejoicing and gloating over his catch. | 15The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. |
| 16Therefore he sacrifices to his fishing net, and burns incense in the presence of his dragnet, because by them his assets increase and he gets plenty of food. | 16Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful. |
| 17Is he to continue to empty his fishing net? Will he ever stop killing entire nations without mercy?" | 17Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing? |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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