Habakkuk חבקוק Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS https://jps.org/books/tanakh-the-holy-scriptures-blue/ Habakkuk Chapter 1 The pronouncement made by the prophet Habakkuk.
How long, O LORD, shall I cry out
And You not listen,
Shall I shout to You, “Violence!”
And You not save? Why do You make me see iniquity
^aTargum and Syriac “So that I look.”[Why] do You look^-a upon wrong?—
Raiding and violence are before me,
Strife continues and contention ^bMeaning of Heb. uncertain.goes on.^-b That is why decision fails
And justice never emerges;
For the villain hedges in the just man—
Therefore judgment emerges deformed.
“Look among the nations,
Observe well and be utterly astounded;
For a work is being wrought in your days
Which you would not believe if it were told. For lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That fierce, impetuous nation,
Who cross the earth’s wide spaces
To seize homes not their own. They are terrible, dreadful;
^cLit. “Their law and majesty proceed from themselves.”They make their own laws and rules.^-c Their horses are swifter than leopards,
Fleeter than wolves of the steppe.^dUnderstanding ‘ereb as synonymous with ‘arabah; cf. Jer. 5.6.
Their steeds gallop—^eThe Qumran Habakkuk commentary (hereafter 1QpHab) reads “and spread [wings].”their steeds^-e
Come flying from afar.
Like vultures rushing toward food, They all come, bent on rapine.
The thrust^bMeaning of Heb. uncertain. of their van is forward,
And they amass captives like sand. Kings they hold in derision,
And princes are a joke to them;
They laugh at every fortress,
They pile up earth and capture it. ^bMeaning of Heb. uncertain.Then they pass on like the wind,
They transgress and incur guilt,
For they ascribe their might to their god.”^-b
You, O LORD, are from everlasting;
My holy God, You^fHeb. “we,” a change made by a pious scribe. never die.
O LORD, You have made them a subject of contention;
O Rock, You have made them a cause for complaint. You whose eyes are too pure to look upon evil,
Who cannot countenance wrongdoing,
Why do You countenance treachery,
And stand by idle
While the one in the wrong devours
The one in the right? You have made mankind like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things ^g1QpHab “[for him] to rule over”; cf. Gen. 1.28; Ps. 8.7–9.that have no ruler.^-g He has fished them all up with a line,
Pulled them up in his trawl,
And gathered them in his net.
That is why he rejoices and is glad. That is why he sacrifices to his trawl
And makes offerings to his net;
For through them his portion^hEmendation yields “bread”; cf. Gen. 49.20. is rich
And his nourishment fat. Shall he then keep ⁱ1QpHab “drawing his sword.”emptying his trawl,^-i
And slaying nations without pity? Chapter 2 I will stand on my watch,
Take up my station at the^a1QpHab reads “my.” post,
And wait to see what He will say to me,
What He^bTaking ’ashib as equivalent to yashib. will reply to my complaint.
The LORD answered me and said:
Write the prophecy down,
Inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that it can be read easily. For ^cEmendation yields “the prophecy is a witness.”there is yet a prophecy^-c for a set term,
A truthful witness for a time that will come.
Even if it tarries, wait for it still;
For it will surely come, without delay: ^dMeaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “Lo, there is a reward for the upright—/ the life breath within him—/ And…”Lo, his spirit within him is puffed up, not upright,
But^-d the righteous man is rewarded with life
For his fidelity. How much less then shall the defiant^eConnecting hyyn (1 QpHab hwn) with the root hwn, Deut. 1.41; for the thought cf. Prov. 11.31. Meaning of rest of line uncertain. go unpunished,
The treacherous, arrogant man
Who has made his maw as wide as Sheol,
Who is as insatiable as Death,
Who has harvested all the nations
And gathered in all the peoples! Surely all these shall pronounce a satire against him,
A pointed epigram concerning him.
They shall say:
Ah, you who pile up what is not yours—
How much longer?—
And make ever heavier your load of indebtedness! Right suddenly will your creditors^fLit. “usurers.” arise,
And those who remind^gLit. “shake”; the same verb means “to call to mind” in Samaritan Aramaic. you will awake,
And you will be despoiled by them. Because you plundered many nations,
All surviving peoples shall plunder you—
For crimes against men and wrongs against lands,
Against cities and all their inhabitants.
Ah, you who have acquired gains
To the detriment of your own house,
^hBrought up from v. 10 for clarity.Who have destroyed many peoples^-h
In order to set your nest on high
To escape disaster! You have plotted shame for your own house,
And guilt for yourself; For a stone shall cry out from the wall,
And a rafter shall answer it from the woodwork.
Ah, you who have built a town with crime,
And established a city with infamy, So that peoples have had to toil for the fire,ⁱI.e., without profit.
And nations to weary themselves for naught!
^jConnection with the next four lines uncertain; they might read better after v. 20.Behold, it is from the LORD of Hosts: ^kCf. Isa. 11.9.For the earth shall be filled
With awe for the glory of the LORD
As water covers the sea.^-k
Ah, you who make others drink to intoxication
^lMeaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “from the bowl of.”As you pour out^-l your wrath,
In order to gaze upon their nakedness!^mCf. Gen. 9.21–22. You shall be sated with shame
Rather than glory:
Drink in your turn and stagger!ⁿEmendation yields “uncover yourself”; cf. Lam. 4.21.
The cup in the right hand of the LORD
Shall come around to you,
And ^oOr “vomit of disgrace upon.”disgrace to^-o your glory. ^pMeaning of Heb. uncertain.For the lawlessness against Lebanon shall cover you,
The destruction of beasts shall overwhelm you^-p—
For crimes against men and wrongs against lands,
Against cities and all their inhabitants. ^qThis verse would read well after v. 19.What has the carved image availed,
That he who fashioned it has carved it
For an image and a false oracle—
That he who fashioned his product has trusted in it,
Making dumb idols? Ah, you who say, “Wake up” to wood,
“Awaken,” to inert stone!
Can that give an oracle?
Why, it is encased in gold and silver,
But there is no breath inside it. But the LORD in His holy Abode—
Be silent before Him all the earth! Chapter 3 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. In the mode of Shigionoth.^aMeaning uncertain; perhaps “psalms of supplication”; cf. Ps. 7.1.
O LORD! I have learned of Your renown;
I am awed, O LORD, by Your deeds.
Renew them in these years,
Oh, make them known in these years!
Though angry, may You remember compassion.
God is coming from Teman,
The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah.^bA musical direction of uncertain meaning.
His majesty covers the skies,
His splendor fills the earth: ^cMeaning of Heb. uncertain.It is a brilliant light
Which gives off rays on every side—
And therein His glory is enveloped.^-c Pestilence marches before Him,
And plague comes forth at His heels. When He stands, He makes the earth shake;^dCf. Targum and Septuagint.
When He glances, He makes nations tremble.
The age-old mountains are shattered,
The primeval hills sink low.
^cMeaning of Heb. uncertain.His are the ancient routes: As a scene of havoc I behold^c
The tents of Cushan;
Shaken are the pavilions
Of the land of Midian!
Are You wroth, O LORD, with Neharim?
Is Your anger against Neharim,
Your rage against Yam^eNeharim (lit. “Floods”) and Yam (lit. “Sea”) were marine monsters vanquished by the Lord in hoary antiquity. On Yam see Ps. 74.13; Job 7.12. A being called both Yam and Nahar figures in early Canaanite literature.—
That You are driving Your steeds,
Your victorious chariot? All bared and ready is Your bow.
^cMeaning of Heb. uncertain.Sworn are the rods of the word.^-c Selah.
You make the earth burst into streams, The mountains rock at the sight of You,
A torrent of rain comes down;
Loud roars the deep,
^cMeaning of Heb. uncertain.The sky returns the echo.^-c Sun [and] moon stand still on high
As Your arrows fly in brightness,
Your flashing spear in brilliance. You tread the earth in rage,
You trample nations in fury. You have come forth to deliver Your people,
To deliver Your anointed.^fI.e., the king of Judah.
^gEmendation yields: You will strike the heads of men of evil, / Smash the pates of Your adversaries. Selah. / You will crack their skulls with Your bludgeon; / Dispersed, blown like chaff shall be they / Who lie in wait to swallow the innocent, / To devour the poor in an ambush.You will smash the roof of the villain’s house,
Raze it from foundation to top. Selah. You will crack [his] skull with Your^hHeb. “His.” bludgeon;
Blown away shall be his warriors,
Whose delight is to crush me suddenly,
To devour a poor man in an ambush.^-g ⁱOr: 15You will make Your steeds tread the sea, / Stirring the mighty waters, / 16That I may have rest on a day of distress, / When a people come up to attack us. / But this report made my bowels quake, / These tidings made my lips quiver; / Rot entered into my bone, / I trembled where I stood: / 17That the fig tree does not bud, / And no yield is on the vine; / The olive crop has failed, / And the fields produce no grain; / The sheep have vanished from the fold, / And no cattle are in the pen.You will make Your steeds tread the sea,
Stirring the mighty waters. I heard and my bowels quaked,
My lips quivered at the sound;
Rot entered into my bone,
I trembled where I stood.
Yet I wait calmly for the day of distress,
For a people to come to attack us. Though the fig tree does not bud
And no yield is on the vine,
Though the olive crop has failed
And the fields produce no grain,
Though sheep have vanished from the fold
And no cattle are in the pen,^-i Yet will I rejoice in the LORD,
Exult in the God who delivers me. My Lord GOD is my strength:
He makes my feet like the deer’s
And lets me stride upon the heights.

^cMeaning of Heb. uncertain.For the leader; with instrumental music.^-c