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Chabakuk 1
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Chabakuk 1
Orthodox Jewish Bible
1 The burden which Chabakuk HaNavi did see.
2 Until when, Hashem, must I cry for help, and Thou wilt not hear? Even cry out unto Thee, Chamas (violence!), and Thou wilt not save?
3 Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold trouble? For plundering and chamas are before me; and there are those that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the torah is slacked, and mishpat (judgment) doth never prevail; for the rasha doth hem in the tzadik; therefore mishpat (justice) proceedeth perverted.
5 [Hashem says:] Behold ye the Goyim, and regard, and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your yamim which, though it be told you, of it ye will have no emunah (faith).
6 For, hineni, I raise up the Kasdim (Chaldeans), that Goy bitter and impetuous, which shall march far and wide over the earth, to confiscate the mishkanot (dwelling places) that are not their own.
7 They are terrible and dreadful; their mishpat and their dignity shall proceed from themselves.
8 Their susim also are swifter than the leopards, keener than the evening wolves; and their parash (cavalry) shall charge ahead, and their parash shall come from afar; they shall fly as the nesher (eagle), swooping to devour.
9 They shall come all for chamas; the swarm of their faces is directed forward, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10 And they shall scoff at the melachim, and the roznim (dignitaries) shall be a scorn unto them; they shall laugh at every stronghold; for they shall heap dirt (earthen ramps), and take it.
11 Then they sweep on like the ruach (wind), guilty men whose g-d is his own koach.
12 Art thou not mikedem (from everlasting, [T.N. Also said of Moshiach, indicating Moshiach’s coeternal divine nature: see Michoh 5:1[2]; see Dan 7:13-14; 3:12), Hashem Elohai (my G-d) Kedoshi (my Holy One)? We shall not die. Hashem, Thou hast appointed them for mishpat; O Tzur, Thou hast ordained them for reproof.
13 Thou art of eyes of tehor (pureness), not to behold rah, and canst not look on wickedness; why lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the rasha devoureth the tzaddik, the man that is more righteous than he?
14 And makest adam as the dagim of the yam, as the creeping things, that have no moshel over them?
15 They take up all of them with a khakkah (hook), they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet; therefore they have simcha (joy) and are glad.
16 Therefore they make zevakhim (sacrifices) unto their net, and burn incense unto their dragnet; because by them their portion is sumptuous, and their food plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and without mercy continually slay the Goyim?
Habakkuk 1
New International Version
Habakkuk 1
New International Version
1 The prophecy(A) that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?(C)
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?(D)
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate(E) wrongdoing?(F)
Destruction and violence(G) are before me;
there is strife,(H) and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law(I) is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice(J) is perverted.(K)
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.(L)
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.(M)
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](N)
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(O)
to seize dwellings not their own.(P)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;(Q)
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter(R) than leopards,
fiercer than wolves(S) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners(T) like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.(U)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps(V) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(W) and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(X)
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(Y)
My God, my Holy One,(Z) you[c] will never die.(AA)
You, Lord, have appointed(AB) them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,(AC) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(AD) to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(AE)
Why then do you tolerate(AF) the treacherous?(AG)
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(AH)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(AI) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(AJ)
he catches them in his net,(AK)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense(AL) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?(AM)
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
- Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we
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