1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 How long, O
Lord, shall I cry out, and You will not hear? How long shall I cry out to You being injured, and You
will not save?
3 Why have You
shown me troubles and grievances to look upon, misery and ungodliness? Judgment is before me, and
the judge receives a reward.
4 Therefore
the law is frustrated, and judgment never goes forth, for the ungodly man prevails over the just;
therefore perverse judgment will proceed.
5 Behold, you despisers, and look, and wonder marvelously,
and vanish: for I work a work in your days which you will by no means believe, though a man declare
it to you.
6 Wherefore,
behold, I stir up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, that walks upon the breadth of the
earth, to inherit tabernacles not his own.
7 He is
terrible and famous; his judgment shall proceed of himself, and his dignity shall come out of
himself.
8 And his
horses shall bound more swiftly than leopards, and they are fiercer than the wolves of Arabia: and
his horsemen shall ride forth, and shall rush from far; and they shall fly as an eagle that
hastens to eat.
9 Destruction
shall come upon ungodly men, resisting with their adverse front, and he shall gather the captivity
as the sand.
10 And he
shall be at his ease with kings, and princes are his toys, and he shall mock at every stronghold,
and shall cast a mound, and take possession of it.
11 Then shall
he change his spirit, and he shall pass through, and make an atonement, saying, This strength
belongs to my god.
12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord God, my Holy One?
And surely we shall not die. O Lord, You have established it for judgment, and He has formed me to
chasten with His correction.
13 His eye is
too pure to behold evil doings, and to look upon grievous afflictions: why do You look upon
despisers? Will You be silent when the ungodly swallows up the just?
14 And will
You make men as the fishes of the sea, and as the reptiles which have no guide?
15 He has
brought up destruction with a hook, and drawn one with a casting net, and caught another in his
drags: therefore shall his heart rejoice and be glad.
16 Therefore
will he sacrifice to his drag, and burn incense to his casting net, because by them he has made his
portion fat, and his meats choice.
17 Therefore
will he cast his net, and will not spare to slay the nations continually.