| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. | 1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. |
| 2O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! | 2How long, LORD, must I call for help and You do not listen or cry out to You about violence and You do not save? |
| 3Why 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. | 3Why do You force me to look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. |
| 4Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. | 4This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted. |
| 5Behold 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. | 5Look at the nations and observe-- be utterly astounded! For something is taking place in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it. |
| 6For, 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. | 6Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth's open spaces to seize territories not its own. |
| 7They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. | 7They are fierce and terrifying; their views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves. |
| 8Their 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. | 8Their horses are swifter than leopards and more fierce than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead; their horsemen come from distant lands. They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour. |
| 9They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. | 9All of them come to do violence; their faces are set in determination. They gather prisoners like sand. |
| 10And 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. | 10They mock kings, and rulers are a joke to them. They laugh at every fortress and build siege ramps to capture it. |
| 11Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. | 11Then they sweep by like the wind and pass through. They are guilty; their strength is their god. |
| 12Art 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. | 12Are You not from eternity, Yahweh my God? My Holy One, You will not die. LORD, You appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, You destined them to punish us. |
| 13Thou 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? | 13Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are You silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself? |
| 14And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? | 14You have made mankind like the fish of the sea, like marine creatures that have no ruler. |
| 15They 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. | 15The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook, catch them in their dragnet, and gather them in their fishing net; that is why they are glad and rejoice. |
| 16Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. | 16That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet and burn incense to their fishing net, for by these things their portion is rich and their food plentiful. |
| 17Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? | 17Will they therefore empty their net and continually slaughter nations without mercy? |
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