| King James Version (KJV) |
New International Version (NIV) |
|
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see .
|
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.
|
|
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry , and thou wilt not hear ! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save !
|
2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?
|
|
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
|
3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
|
|
4 Therefore the law is slacked , and judgment doth never go forth : for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth .
|
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
|
|
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard , and wonder marvellously : for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe , though it be told you.
|
5 "Look at the nations and watch-- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
|
|
6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
|
6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.
|
|
7 They are terrible and dreadful : their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
|
7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
|
|
8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat .
|
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;
|
|
9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
|
9 they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.
|
|
10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
|
10 They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them.
|
|
11 Then shall his mind change , and he shall pass over , and offend , imputing this his power unto his god.
|
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on-- guilty men, whose own strength is their god."
|
|
12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die . O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction .
|
12 O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.
|
|
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously , and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
|
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
|
|
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
|
14 You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler.
|
|
15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad .
|
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.
|
|
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
|
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.
|
|
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
|
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
|
| The King James Version is in the public domain. (The King James Bible Version Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
