Habakkuk 1
1
The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2
O LORD, how long shall I cry,
a And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, b "Violence!"
And You will c not save.
3
Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4
Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the d wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
5
"Look e among the nations and watch -
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6
For indeed I am f raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty g nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7
They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8
Their horses also are h swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the i eagle that hastens to eat.
9
"They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10
They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11
Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
j Ascribing this power to his god."
12
Are You not k from everlasting,
O LORD my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O LORD, l You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for m correction.
13
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14
Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15
They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16
Therefore n they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17
Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?
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Cross References
Lamentations 3:8
Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer.
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Cross References
Micah 2:1
Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand.
Micah 2:2
They covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.
Micah 3:1 - 3
And I said: "Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?
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Cross References
Job 21:5 - 16
Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 12:1
Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
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Cross References
Isaiah 29:14
Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.
Ezekiel 12:22 - 28
Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, 'The days are prolonged, and every vision fails'?
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation against you from a...
Deuteronomy 28:50
A nation of fierce countenance, which does not ...
2 Kings 24:2
And the LORD sent against him raiding bands of ...
2 Chronicles 36:17
Therefore He brought against them the king of t...
Jeremiah 4:11 - 13
At that time it will be said To this people and...
Micah 4:10
Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughte...
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Cross References
Ezekiel 7:24
Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, And they will possess their houses; I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, And their holy places shall be defiled.
Ezekiel 21:31
I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath, And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to destroy.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 4:13
"Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!"
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Cross References
Job 9:26
They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle sw...
Job 39:29
From there it spies out the prey; Its eyes obse...
Job 39:30
Its young ones suck up blood; And where the sla...
Lamentations 4:19
Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of th...
Ezekiel 17:3
And say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "A great eagl...
Hosea 8:1
Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come li...
Matthew 24:28
For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles w...
Luke 17:37
And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord...
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Cross References
Daniel 5:4
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!
Psalms 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psalms 93:2
Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.
Malachi 3:6
For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
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Cross References
Isaiah 10:5 - 7
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
Malachi 3:5
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien - Because they do not fear Me," Says the LORD of hosts.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 25:9
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the LORD, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 8:17
"then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.'
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.