Habakkuk 1:2

2 Lord, how long must I ask for help and you ignore me? I cry out to you about violence, but you do not save us!

Habakkuk 1:2 Meaning and Commentary

Habakkuk 1:2

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!
&c.] The prophet having long observed the sins and iniquities of the people among whom he lived, and being greatly distressed in his mind on account of them, had frequently and importunately cried unto the Lord to put a stop to the abounding of them, that the people might be brought to a sense of their sins, and reform from them; but nothing of this kind appearing, he concludes his prayers were not heard, and therefore expostulates with the Lord upon this head: [even] cry unto thee [of] violence, and thou wilt not save!
either of violence done to himself in the discharge of his office, or of one man to another, of the rich to the poor; and yet, though he cried again and again to the Lord, to check this growing evil, and deliver the oppressed out of the hands of their oppressors, it was not done; which was matter of grief and trouble to him.

Habakkuk 1:2 In-Context

1 This is the message Habakkuk the prophet received.
2 Lord, how long must I ask for help and you ignore me? I cry out to you about violence, but you do not save us!
3 Why do you make me see wrong things and make me look at trouble? People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me; they are arguing and fighting.
4 So the teachings are weak, and justice never comes. Evil people gain while good people lose; the judges no longer make fair decisions.
5 "Look at the nations! Watch them and be amazed and shocked. I will do something in your lifetime that you won't believe even when you are told about it.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.