Habakkuk 1 King James Version (KJV)
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
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!
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.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
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 their’s.
7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
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.
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.
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.
11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his 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.
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?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
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.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
Commentary
Although Habakkuk does not mention the Judean kings of his time, the contents of his book indicate the era in which he prophesied. He announced his message during the closing years of the kingdom of Judah, when Babylon had risen to power and Judah was threatened with conquest.
| Habakkuk Comentary | Habakkuk Comentary |
|---|---|
| Habakkuk 1 Commentary | Habakkuk 2 Commentary |
| Habakkuk 3 Commentary | Habakkuk KJV |
The prophet and the Babylonians
With its conquest of Assyria in 612 BC, Babylon became the leading power in the region of Mesopotamia and Palestine. Then in 605 BC it defeated Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates River (see map located in the commentary on Nahum). Since Egypt had earlier defeated Judah, this meant that Babylon replaced Egypt as Judah’s overlord (2 Kings 23:33-35; 24:7; Dan 1:1-4).
When Judah rebelled against Babylon, the Babylonian armies captured Jerusalem, took all the best people into captivity, and appointed a new king over those who remained in the city (597 BC; 2 Kings 24:10-17). When, after some years, the new king also rebelled, Babylon finally lost patience. It destroyed Jerusalem and took most of the remaining people into captivity. This was the end of the kingdom of Judah (587 BC; 2 Kings 25:1-12).
The prophet Habakkuk lived during the early days of this build-up of Babylonian control over Judah.
His book records how he argued with God when he learnt that God was preparing Babylon to be his instrument to punish Judah. Habakkuk was confused, perhaps angry, because he knew that the Babylonians were worse sinners than the Judeans. God assured Habakkuk that any of the Judeans who remained faithful to him had no cause for fear. Although the nation as a whole would be destroyed, the faithful would enjoy his favour.
God had a message for the Babylonians as well. They had no cause for self-satisfaction. They had shown an intolerable arrogance in conquering God’s people, and therefore they too would suffer a divine judgment.
Habakkuk’s faith was strengthened through his dialogue with God. He may not have received the detailed explanations from God that he was looking for, but he received a revelation of God’s power and wisdom that gave him a better knowledge of God and a determination to remain faithful to him.