1 T he burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen:

The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

2 T ill when, O Jehovah, have I cried, And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee -- `Violence,' and Thou dost not save.

Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save.

3 W hy dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift up,

Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.

4 T herefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.

Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.

5 L ook ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.

See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared.

6 F or, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own.

For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.

7 T errible and fearful it, From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.

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

8 S wifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume.

And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.

9 W holly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.

They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand.

10 A nd at kings it doth scoff, And princes a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it.

Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.

11 T hen passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.

Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his +god.

12 A rt not Thou of old, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O Jehovah, For judgment Thou hast appointed it, And, O Rock, for reproof Thou hast founded it.

—Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.

13 P urer of eyes than to behold evil, To look on perverseness Thou art not able, Why dost Thou behold the treacherous? Thou keepest silent when the wicked Doth swallow the more righteous than he,

of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a more righteous than he?

14 A nd Thou makest man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing -- none ruling over him.

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

15 E ach of them with a hook he hath brought up, He doth catch it in his net, and gathereth it in his drag, Therefore he doth joy and rejoice.

He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:

16 T herefore he doth sacrifice to his net, And doth make perfume to his drag, For by them his portion fertile, and his food fat.

therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty.

17 D oth he therefore empty his net, And continually to slay nations spare not?

Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?