1:1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.







1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out



unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!  1:3 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.







1:4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth:



for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong



judgment proceedeth.







1:5 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.







1:6 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.







1:7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity



shall proceed of themselves.







1:8 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.







1:9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the



east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.







1:10 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.







1:11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend,



imputing this his power unto his god.







1:12 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.







1:13 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?  1:14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as



the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?  1:15 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.







1:16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto



their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat



plenteous.







1:17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually



to slay the nations?  2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon



the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I



shall answer when I am reproved.







2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it



plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.







2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it



shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it



will surely come, it will not tarry.







2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the



just shall live by his faith.







2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man,



neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as



death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations,



and heapeth unto him all people: 2:6 Shall not all these take up a



parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe



to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him



that ladeth himself with thick clay!  2:7 Shall they not rise up



suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou



shalt be for booties unto them?  2:8 Because thou hast spoiled many



nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of



men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all



that dwell therein.







2:9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that



he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power



of evil!  2:10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off



many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.







2:11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the



timber shall answer it.







2:12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a



city by iniquity!  2:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that



the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary



themselves for very vanity?  2:14 For the earth shall be filled with



the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.







2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy



bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on



their nakedness!  2:16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink



thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD's



right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on



thy glory.







2:17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of



beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the



violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.







2:18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath



graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of



his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?  2:19 Woe unto him that



saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach!



Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath



at all in the midst of it.







2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep



silence before him.







3:1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.







3:2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive



thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make



known; in wrath remember mercy.







3:3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His



glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.







3:4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of



his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.







3:5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at



his feet.







3:6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the



nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual



hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.







3:7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the



land of Midian did tremble.







3:8 Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger



against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst



ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?  3:9 Thy bow was



made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word.



Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.







3:10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the



water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands



on high.







3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of



thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.







3:12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst



thresh the heathen in anger.







3:13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for



salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the



house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck.



Selah.







3:14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his



villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing



was as to devour the poor secretly.







3:15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the



heap of great waters.







3:16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice:



rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I



might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people,



he will invade them with his troops.







3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be



in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall



yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there



shall be no herd in the stalls: 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I



will joy in the God of my salvation.







3:19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds'



feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief



singer on my stringed instruments.