Parallel Bible results for "habakkuk 1"

Habakkuk 1

New Century Version NCV

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.

6 I will use the Babylonians, those cruel and wild people who march across the earth and take lands that don't belong to them.

7 They scare and frighten people. They do what they want to do and are good only to themselves.

8 Their horses are faster than leopards and quicker than wolves at sunset. Their horse soldiers attack quickly; they come from places far away. They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.

9 They all come to fight. Nothing can stop them. Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.

10 They laugh at kings and make fun of rulers. They laugh at all the strong, walled cities and build dirt piles to the top of the walls to capture them.

11 Then they leave like the wind and move on. They are guilty of worshiping their own strength."

12 Lord, you live forever, my God, my holy God. We will not die. Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians to punish people; our Rock, you picked them to punish.

13 Your eyes are too good to look at evil; you cannot stand to see those who do wrong. So how can you put up with those evil people? How can you be quiet when the wicked swallow up people who are better than they are?

14 You treat people like fish in the sea, like sea animals without a leader.

15 The enemy brings them in with hooks. He catches them in his net and drags them in his fishnet. So he rejoices and sings for joy.

16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net and burns incense to worship it, because it lets him live like the rich and enjoy the best food.

17 Will he keep on taking riches with his net? Will he go on destroying people without showing mercy?

Good News Translation GNT

1 This is the message that the Lord revealed to the prophet Habakkuk.

2 O Lord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence?

3 Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere.

4 The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.

5 Then the Lord said to his people, "Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it.

6 I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands.

7 They spread fear and terror, and in their pride they are a law to themselves.

8 "Their horses are faster than leopards, fiercer than hungry wolves. Their cavalry troops come riding from distant lands; their horses paw the ground. They come swooping down like eagles attacking their prey.

9 "Their armies advance in violent conquest, and everyone is terrified as they approach. Their captives are as numerous as grains of sand.

10 They treat kings with contempt and laugh at high officials. No fortress can stop them - they pile up earth against it and capture it.

11 Then they sweep on like the wind and are gone, these men whose power is their god."

12 Lord, from the very beginning you are God. You are my God, holy and eternal. Lord, my God and protector, you have chosen the Babylonians and made them strong so that they can punish us.

13 But how can you stand these treacherous, evil men? Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong. So why are you silent while they destroy people who are more righteous than they are?

14 How can you treat people like fish or like a swarm of insects that have no ruler to direct them?

15 The Babylonians catch people with hooks, as though they were fish. They drag them off in nets and shout for joy over their catch!

16 They even worship their nets and offer sacrifices to them, because their nets provide them with the best of everything.

17 Are they going to use their swords forever and keep on destroying nations without mercy?