2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, aAnd You will not hear? Even cry out to You, b“Violence!” And You will cnot save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see1 trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the awicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5 “Looka among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For Iwill work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am araising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty bnation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places thatare not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their1 horses also are aswifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers2 charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the beagle that hastens to eat.
9 “They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his1 mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, aAscribing this power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
12 Are You not afrom everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, bYou have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for ccorrection.
violence . . . Why dost thou show me iniquity?—Similar language is used of the Chaldeans (Habakkuk 1:9, Habakkuk 1:13), as here is used of the Jews: implying, that as the Jews sinned by violence and injustice, so they should be punished by violence and injustice (Proverbs 1:31). Jehoiakim's reign was marked by injustice, treachery, and bloodshed (Jeremiah 22:3, Jeremiah 22:13-17). Therefore the Chaldeans should be sent to deal with him and his nobles according to their dealings with others (Habakkuk 1:6, Habakkuk 1:10-11, Habakkuk 1:17). Compare Jeremiah's expostulation with Jehovah, Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 20:8; and Job 19:7-8.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Habakkuk 1:2:
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