1 The pronouncement a that the prophet Habakkuk saw. b
Habakkuk’s First Prayer
2 How long, c LORD, must I call for help d
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence e
and you do not save?
3 Why do you force me to look at injustice? f
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict g the righteous;
therefore, justice h comes out perverted.
God’s First Answer
5 Look at the nations ,i and observe j—
be utterly astounded! k
For I am doing something in your days
that you will not believe l
when you hear about it. m
6 Look! I am raising up n the Chaldeans,
that bitter, o impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce p and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter q than leopards r
and more fierce than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like eagles, swooping to devour. s
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces t are set in determination.
They gather u prisoners like sand. v
10 They mock w kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh x at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture y it.
11 Then they sweep z by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty; their strength is their god.
Habakkuk’s Second Prayer
12 Are you not from eternity, LORD my God? a
My Holy One, b you will not die.
LORD, you appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock, c you destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes d are too pure e to look on evil,
and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous? f
Why are you silent
while one who is wicked swallows up
one who is more righteous than himself?
14 You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea, g
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet, h
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
16 That 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. i
17 Will they therefore empty their net
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?
A. First perplexity (1:1–4). 1:1. Habakkuk introduces his prophecy that his words are an oracle or pronouncement from God. A similar superscription introduces Habakkuk’s prayer and praise in 3:1.
1:2–4. Habakkuk cannot understand why God is ignoring the rampant corruption in Judah. He has often cried to God in anguish but has received no answer (1:2). Because the call-answer motif is used often in the OT to express communion between God and the believer, Habakkuk may fear that God’s failure to answer indicates that Habakkuk is out of fellowship with God.
B. First explanation (1:5–11). 1:5–6. God’s reply is puzzling. He tells Habakkuk that he will punish wicked Judah by using Chaldeans (the Babylonians, 1:6). Since the Neo-Babylonian Empire would not be a force to be reckoned with until much later, such a threat seems unbelievable (1:5). In fact, although full judgment would not descend on Judah for more than half a century, the forces that will spell Judah’s doom are already being set in motion. Whether Habakkuk lived to see the rise of the Chaldeans is not known, but Manasseh’s summons to Babylon (2 Ch 33:11) would portend Babylon’s later dealings with God’s people. The pronoun “your” with the noun “days” is plural and therefore does not indicate specifically Habakkuk’s lifetime. The words are to be taken in a general way.
1:7–11. Verses 7–11 describe the coming Babylonian army to reinforce God’s dire pronouncement. They will be a formidable and fierce people noted for their cruelty and arrogant spirit (1:7). Armed with a sizable cavalry, they will move swiftly across the land and with all the cunning of a ferocious wolf that uses the gathering twilight to attack the sheepfold (1:8). The army covers vast distances with the speed of an eagle set for the prey. The image changes in 1:9 to depict the army as a desert storm. Just as the east wind carried sand in its cyclonic winds, so the Babylonians will gather numerous prisoners.
1:12–13. Habakkuk first reaffirms his belief in God, the everlasting Lord, the Holy One, Israel’s Rock, and his very own God (1:12). Having demonstrated his allegiance to God, Habakkuk points out the paradox that a holy God could use a wicked nation to execute his purposes (1:13). Yes, Judah is wicked, but Babylon is even more so. In making his point Habakkuk utilizes some of the same Hebrew words used to describe Judah’s sin. Can God not see the danger of using such a treacherous and wicked nation?
1:14–17. Habakkuk complains that God’s plan will render Judah and the surrounding nations as helpless as fish and sea creatures, which fishermen catch with hooks, nets, or a dragnet (1:14–15). Unchecked by any foe, these Babylonian “fishermen” will know no god but their own nets (1:16). Habakkuk fears that the great success of the Neo-Babylonian army will instill such pride that the Babylonians will live recklessly and riotously, believing only in themselves and raw power.