| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. Habakkuk’s Complaint | 1The following is the message which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: |
| 2How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. | 2How long, LORD, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you, "Violence!" But you do not intervene! |
| 3Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. | 3Why do you force me to witness injustice? Why do you put up with wrongdoing? Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife. |
| 4The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted. The LORD’s Reply | 4For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted. |
| 5The LORD replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. | 5"Look at the nations and pay attention! You will be shocked and amazed! For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. |
| 6I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands. | 6Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them. |
| 7They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like. | 7They are frightening and terrifying; they decide for themselves what is right. |
| 8Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey. | 8Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. |
| 9“On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand. | 9All of them intend to do violence; every face is determined. They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. |
| 10They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them! | 10They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps and capture them. |
| 11They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.” Habakkuk’s Second Complaint | 11They sweep by like the wind and pass on. But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty." |
| 12O LORD my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O LORD, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. | 12LORD, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal. LORD, you have made them your instrument of judgment. Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. |
| 13But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they? | 13You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? |
| 14Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader? | 14You made people like fish in the sea, like animals in the sea that have no ruler. |
| 15Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate? | 15The Babylonian tyrant pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. When he catches them in his dragnet, he is very happy. |
| 16Then they will worship their nets and burn incense in front of them. “These nets are the gods who have made us rich!” they will claim. | 16Because of his success he offers sacrifices to his throw net and burns incense to his dragnet; for because of them he has plenty of food, and more than enough to eat. |
| 17Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests? | 17Will he then continue to fill and empty his throw net? Will he always destroy nations and spare none? |
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