1 T he burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. The Prophet’s Question

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.

3 W hy do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises.

4 T herefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. The Lord ’s Reply

5 “ Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

6 F or indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.

7 T hey are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

8 T heir horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.

9 “ They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand.

10 T hey scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.

11 T hen his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.” The Prophet’s Second Question

12 A re You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.

13 Y ou are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?

14 W hy do You make men like fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?

15 T hey take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.

16 T herefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And their food plentiful.

17 S hall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity?