1. The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2. O Lord, how long shall I cry,and You will not hear?Or cry to You, “Violence!”and You will not save?
3. Why do You make me see wickedness,and cause me to see trouble?Plundering and violence are before me;strife and contention arise.
4. Therefore the law is powerless,and justice never goes forth.For the wicked surround the righteous;therefore injustice proceeds.
5. Look among the nations, and watch—wonder and be amazed!For I am doing a work in your daysthat you would not believe,though it were told you.
6. For I am raising up the Chaldeans,that bitter and hasty nationwhich marches through the breadth of the earth,to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7. They are terrible and dreadful;their justice and their dignityproceed from themselves.
8. Their horses are swifter than leopards,more fierce than evening wolves.Their horsemen charge on;their horsemen come from afar;they fly like the eagle that hastens to eat.