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?

New Living Translation NLT

1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.

2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save.

3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight.

4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

5 The LORD replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.

6 I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.

7 They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like.

8 Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.

9 “On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.

10 They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them!

11 They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

12 O LORD my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O LORD, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins.

13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?

14 Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?

15 Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?

16 Then they will worship their nets and burn incense in front of them. “These nets are the gods who have made us rich!” they will claim.

17 Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?