Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Are you not from of old, O Lord,
my holy God, immortal?(A)
Lord, you have appointed them for judgment,[a]
O Rock,[b] you have set them in place to punish!
13 Your eyes are too pure to look upon wickedness,
and the sight of evil you cannot endure.
Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked devour those more just than themselves?
14 You have made mortals like the fish in the sea,
like creeping things without a leader.
15 He[c] brings them all up with a hook,
and hauls them away with his net;
He gathers them in his fishing net,
and then rejoices and exults.
16 Therefore he makes sacrifices to his net,[d]
and burns incense to his fishing net;
For thanks to them his portion is rich,
and his meal lavish.
17 Shall they, then, keep on drawing his sword
to slaughter nations without mercy?
Chapter 2
1 I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart;(B)
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.
Footnotes
- 1:12–2:1 Appointed them for judgment: this complaint is directed against the violent Babylonians, the very nation God chose to punish Judah.
- 1:12 Rock: an ancient title celebrating the Lord’s power and fidelity; cf. Dt 32:4; Is 26:4; 30:29; Ps 18:3, 32, 47; 95:1.
- 1:15 He: the Babylonian king (cf. vv. 6, 13), who easily conquers other nations and treats them as objects for his entertainment and enrichment.
- 1:16 He makes sacrifices to his net: the leader attributes victory to the military weapons he wields; he and his weapons have won victory, not any god.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.