Habakkuk 1

The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

The heavy vision that deeply moved Prophet Habakkuk.

O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

Oh Lord, when will you hear my cries? I've been shouting about the violence, yet you don't intervene!

Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.

Why do you expose me to wrongdoing and make me witness suffering? I see destruction and conflict all around me, and people instigating disputes and arguments.

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

The law has become lax, and justice is never served. The wicked surround the good, leading to unjust outcomes.

Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

Look around at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed, because I'm about to do something in your lifetime that you wouldn't believe, even if someone told you.

For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.

Indeed, I am summoning the Chaldeans, a harsh and impulsive people, who will sweep across the land, claiming homes that do not belong to them.

They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.

They are fearsome and intimidating: their decisions and their honor will come from within them.

Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

Their horses are faster than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their riders will scatter, coming from great distances, swooping down like eagles hungry for prey.

They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

They will arrive driven by aggression, their expressions as harsh as the eastern wind. They will amass prisoners as numerous as grains of sand.

And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.

They will mock the rulers, treating leaders with contempt. They will laugh at every fortress, for they will conquer it as easily as sweeping up dust.

Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.

His thoughts will shift, he'll cross the line, sinning, attributing his strength to his god.

Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

Aren't you eternal, my Lord, my Sacred One? We won't perish. Lord, you've set them up for judgment; Almighty God, you've prepared them for discipline.

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Your eyes are too pure to witness evil, and you can't bear to see wrongdoing. So why do you watch those who act deceitfully and stay silent when the wicked harm those more righteous than themselves?

And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

You have made people like fish in the sea, like creeping creatures with no leader to protect them.

They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

They skillfully hook them all, ensnare them in their traps, and collect them in their nets. This brings them immense joy and satisfaction.

Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.

They worship their own achievements, giving credit to their tools, for these bring them wealth and abundance.

Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

Will they keep draining their net, showing no mercy as they relentlessly destroy nations?