1This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.H4853H2265H5030H2372
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save.H3068H7768H8085H2199H2555H34673Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight.H7200H205H5027H5999H7701H2555H5375H7379H40664The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.H8451H6313H4941H5331H3318H7563H3803H6662H6127H4941H3318
The Lord’s Reply
5The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.H7200H1471H5027H8539H8539H6466H6467H3117H539H56086I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.H6965H3778H4751H4116H1471H1980H4800H776H3423H49087They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like.H366H3372H4941H7613H33188Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.H5483H7043H5246H2300H6153H2061H6571H6335H6571H935H7350H5774H5404H2363H3989“On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.H935H2555H6440H4041H6921H622H7628H234410They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them!H7046H4428H7336H4890H7832H4013H6651H6083H392011They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”H7307H2498H5674H816H2098H3581H433
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins.H6924H3068H430H6918H4191H3068H7760H4941H6697H3245H319813But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?H2889H5869H7200H7451H3201H5027H5999H5027H898H2790H7563H1104H666214Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?H6213H120H1709H3220H7431H491015Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?H5927H2443H1641H2764H622H4365H8055H152316Then they will worship their nets and burn incense in front of them. “These nets are the gods who have made us rich!” they will claim.H2076H2764H6999H4365H1992H2506H8082H3978H127717Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?H7324H2764H2550H8548H2026H1471
For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.H7200
