Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1The pronouncement which Habakkuk the prophet saw:
2How long, Lord, have I called for help,
And You do not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
3Why do You make me see disaster,
And make me look at destitution?
Yes, devastation and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
4Therefore the Law Or is ineffective; lit turns coldis ignored,
And justice Lit never goes forthis never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out confused.
5“Look among the nations! Watch!
Be horrified! Be frightened speechless!
For I am accomplishing a work in your days—
You would not believe it even if Lit ityou were told!
6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That Lit bittergrim and impetuous people
Who march Lit the breadth ofthroughout the earth,
To take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs.
7They are terrifying and feared;
Their justice and Lit sovereigntyauthority Lit proceed fromoriginate with themselves.
8Their horses are faster than leopards,
And quicker than wolves in the evening.
Their Or horseshorsemen charge along,
Their Or horseshorsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle Lit hurrying toswooping down to devour.
9All of them come for violence.
Lit The totality of
Their horde of faces moves forward.
They gather captives like sand.
10They make fun of kings,
And dignitaries are an object of laughter to them.
They laugh at every fortress,
Then heap up dirt and Or overthrowcapture it.
11Then they fly along like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They whose strength is their god.”
12Are You not from time everlasting,
Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to deliver judgment;
And You, O Rock, have destined them to punish.
13
Your eyes are too pure to look at evil,
And You cannot look at harm favorably.
Why do You look favorably
At those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14
Why have You made people like the fish of the sea,
Like crawling things that have no ruler over them?
15
The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are joyful.
16Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And Or sacrificeburn incense to their fishing net,
Because through these things their Lit portioncatch is Lit fat; or plentifullarge,
And their food is Lit fatplentiful.
17Will they therefore empty their net,
And continually slay nations without sparing?
New American Standard Bible
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by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved.
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