Habakkuk 1:1-4; Habakkuk 2:1-5

1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?

3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

1 I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.

2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.

3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.

4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.

5 Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure. They open their throats wide as Sheol; like Death they never have enough. They gather all nations for themselves, and collect all peoples as their own.