Habakuk 1:1-4

Habakkuk Complains to the Lord

1:1 The following is the message ¹  which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: ² 

1:2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help?

But you do not listen!

I call out to you, “Violence!”

But you do not intervene! ³ 

1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? ⁴ 

Why do you put up with wrongdoing? ⁵ 

Destruction and violence confront ⁶  me;

conflict is present and one must endure strife. ⁷ 

1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, ⁸ 

and justice is never carried out. ⁹ 

Indeed, ¹⁰  the wicked intimidate ¹¹  the innocent. ¹² 

For this reason justice is perverted. ¹³ 

Habakuk 2:1-4

2:1 I will stand at my watch post;

I will remain stationed on the city wall. ¹⁴ 

I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me

and can know ¹⁵  how I should answer

when he counters my argument. ¹⁶ 

The Lord Assures Habakkuk

2:2 The Lord responded: ¹⁷ 

“Write down this message! ¹⁸  Record it legibly on tablets,

so the one who announces ¹⁹  it may read it easily. ²⁰ 

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ²¹ 

it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ²² 

Even if the message ²³  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ²⁴ 

for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, ²⁵ 

but the person of integrity ²⁶  will live ²⁷  because of his faithfulness. ²⁸ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The burden” (so KJV, ASV). The Hebrew term מַשָּׂא (masa’), usually translated “oracle” (NAB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. III מַשָּׂא), in prophetic literature is a technical term introducing a message from the Lord (see Zech 9:1; 12:1; Mal 1:1). Since it derives from a verb meaning “to carry,” its original nuance was that of a burdensome message, that is, one with ominous content.

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] which Habakkuk the prophet saw.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Or “deliver.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?”

[1:3]  sn Habakkuk complains that God tolerates social injustice and fails to intervene on behalf of the oppressed (put up with wrongdoing).

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “are before.”

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and there is conflict and strife he lifts up.” The present translation takes the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) in the sense of “carry, bear,” and understands the subject to be indefinite (“one”).

[1:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the law is numb,” i.e., like a hand that has “fallen asleep” (see Ps 77:2). Cf. NAB “is benumbed”; NIV “is paralyzed.”

[1:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “never goes out.”

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[1:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “surround” (so NASB, NRSV).

[1:4]  ¹² tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “comes out crooked.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord answered and said.” The redundant expression “answered and said” has been simplified in the translation as “responded.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[the] vision.”

[2:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “reads from.”

[2:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “might run,” which here probably means “run [through it quickly with one’s eyes],” that is, read it easily.

[2:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.

[2:3]  ²² tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.

[2:3]  ²³ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”

[2:4]  ²⁵ tn The meaning of this line is unclear, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding the second word, עֲפְּלָה (’apÿlah). Some read this as an otherwise unattested verb עָפַל (’afal, “swell”) from which are derived nouns meaning “mound” and “hemorrhoid.” This “swelling” is then understood in an abstract sense, “swell with pride.” This would yield a translation, “As for the proud, his desires are not right within him” (cf. NASB “as for the proud one”; NIV “he is puffed up”; NRSV “Look at the proud!”). A multitude of other interpretations of this line, many of which involve emendations of the problematic form, may be found in the commentaries and periodical literature. The present translation assumes an emendation to a Pual form of the verb עָלַף (’alaf, “be faint, exhausted”). (See its use in the Pual in Isa 51:20, and in the Hitpael in Amos 8:13 and Jonah 4:8.) In the antithetical parallelism of the verse, it corresponds to חָיָה (khayah, “live”). The phrase לֹא יָשְׁרָה נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹ (lo’ yoshrah nafsho bo), literally, “not upright his desire within him,” is taken as a substantival clause that contrasts with צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “the righteous one”) and serves as the subject of the preceding verb. Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in the sense of “desire” (see BDB 660-61 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ for a list of passages where the word carries this sense).

[2:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.

[2:4]  ²⁷ tn Or “will be preserved.” In the immediate context this probably refers to physical preservation through both the present oppression and the coming judgment (see Hab 3:16-19).

[2:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (’emunah) has traditionally been translated “faith,” but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness.” The antecedent of the suffix has been understood in different ways. It could refer to God’s faithfulness, but in this case one would expect a first person suffix (the original form of the LXX has “my faithfulness” here). Others understand the “vision” to be the antecedent. In this case the reliability of the prophecy is in view. For a statement of this view, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 111-12. The present translation assumes that the preceding word “[the person of] integrity” is the antecedent. In this case the Lord is assuring Habakkuk that those who are truly innocent will be preserved through the coming oppression and judgment by their godly lifestyle, for God ultimately rewards this type of conduct. In contrast to these innocent people, those with impure desires (epitomized by the greedy Babylonians; see v. 5) will not be able to withstand God’s judgment (v. 4a).