The Prophets · Old Testament
Habakkuk 1
Habakkuk 1: how long shall I cry, and the Chaldeans raised up
General context
The first verse names the burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw. The prophet cries to the Lord: how long must he cry without being heard, and cry out of violence without being saved? He asks why the Lord shows him iniquity and grievance, since spoiling, violence, strife and contention are before him; the law is slacked, judgment never goes forth, the wicked surround the righteous and wrong judgment proceeds. The answer tells the hearers to look among the heathen and wonder, for a work will be done in their days they would not believe if told: the Lord raises up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation that marches through the breadth of the land to seize dwellings not theirs. Their judgment proceeds from themselves, their horses are swifter than leopards and fiercer than evening wolves, their horsemen fly like eagles, they gather captives like sand, scoff at kings, deride strongholds and heap dust to take them; then their mind changes and they impute their power to their god. The prophet answers again: is the Lord not from everlasting, so that "we shall not die"? He has ordained them for judgment and correction. But the Lord's eyes are too pure to look on evil, so why does he watch the treacherous and hold his tongue when the wicked devours one more righteous? Men are made like fish with no ruler; the enemy takes them with hook, net and drag, rejoices, sacrifices to his net because his portion is fat, and the chapter ends asking whether he will therefore keep emptying his net and slaying nations without sparing.
Cited passages: Habakkuk 1:1, Habakkuk 1:2, Habakkuk 1:3, Habakkuk 1:4, Habakkuk 1:5, Habakkuk 1:6, Habakkuk 1:7, Habakkuk 1:8, Habakkuk 1:9, Habakkuk 1:10, Habakkuk 1:11, Habakkuk 1:12, Habakkuk 1:13, Habakkuk 1:14, Habakkuk 1:15, Habakkuk 1:16, Habakkuk 1:17
Habakkuk 1 (KJV)
1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3Why 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.
4Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
6For, 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 theirs.
7They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8Their 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.
9They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10And 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.
11Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
12Art 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.
13Thou 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?
14And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15They 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.
16Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
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Historical context
The heading is verse text: "The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see." It gives the name and the title prophet; no father, town, king or date appears anywhere in the book. The one nation named is "the Chaldeans," raised up by the Lord in verse 6 and described by their horses, horsemen and contempt for kings; no Chaldean king is named. The chapter does not name the kingdom or city where the violence of verses 2 to 4 takes place, and it does not say whether "the wicked" of verse 4 and "the wicked" of verse 13 are the same party. The chapter is a dialogue: verses 2 to 4 are the prophet's complaint, verses 5 to 11 are the answer (the "I" who raises the Chaldeans), and verses 12 to 17 are the prophet's second complaint, which addresses the Lord as "mine Holy One" and accepts that the Chaldeans are ordained "for judgment" before objecting to their treachery. Acts 13:41 is a later citation whose wording follows verse 5: "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." The chapter's questions are left unanswered until 2:2.
Cited passages: Habakkuk 1:1, Habakkuk 1:6, Habakkuk 1:10, Habakkuk 1:2, Habakkuk 1:4, Habakkuk 1:13, Habakkuk 1:5, Habakkuk 1:12, Acts 13:41, Habakkuk 2:2
Literary context
The chapter is shaped as two complaints around one answer, and the answer creates the second complaint. The prophet's first speech is all questions: how long, why. The Lord's reply is a portrait of the Chaldeans in animal similes, leopards, evening wolves, eagles, and ends with them crediting their power to their god. The prophet's second speech turns the Lord's own words back: the Lord said they gather captives like sand, and the prophet says men are made like fish gathered in a net. The contrast is between purity and looking: eyes too pure to behold evil, yet "wherefore lookest thou." The repeated "therefore" in verses 15 to 17 builds a chain from catch to joy to sacrifice to the closing question. The last line, whether he will slay the nations continually, hangs without reply and forces the reader into chapter 2, where the prophet stands on his watch to wait for one.
Cited passages: Habakkuk 1:2, Habakkuk 1:3, Habakkuk 1:8, Habakkuk 1:11, Habakkuk 1:9, Habakkuk 1:14, Habakkuk 1:13, Habakkuk 1:15, Habakkuk 1:16, Habakkuk 1:17, Habakkuk 2:1
Key moments
- The burden Habakkuk saw (Habakkuk 1:1). The heading names the burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
- How long shall I cry? (Habakkuk 1:2). The prophet asks how long he must cry of violence without being saved.
- The law is slacked (Habakkuk 1:4). Judgment never goes forth and the wicked surround the righteous.
- I raise up the Chaldeans (Habakkuk 1:6). The Lord raises a bitter and hasty nation to possess dwellings not theirs.
- Power imputed to his god (Habakkuk 1:11). The Chaldean's mind changes and he credits his own god with his power.
- Eyes too pure to behold evil (Habakkuk 1:13). The prophet asks why the Lord watches the wicked devour the more righteous.
- Sacrifice to the net (Habakkuk 1:16). The enemy worships his net because it makes his portion fat.
For reflection
The prophet complains of violence, and the answer is a more violent nation. What is a reader to make of an answer that deepens the question it was meant to settle?
