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Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah

¹ The ^(F1)(C1)oracle (a burdensome message—a pronouncement from God) which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

² O LORD, ^(C1)how long will I call for help
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, "Violence!"
Yet You do ^(C2)not save.

³ Why do You ^(C1)make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
For ^(C2)destruction and violence are before me;
^(C3)Strife continues and contention arises.

⁴ Therefore, the ^(C1)law is ineffective and ignored
And justice is never upheld,
For the wicked ^(C2)surround the righteous;
Therefore, justice becomes ^(C3)perverted.

⁵ The LORD replied, "^(C1)Look among the nations! See!
Be astonished! ^(C2)Wonder!
For I am doing ^(C3)something in your days—
You would not believe it if you were told. ^(VR1)

⁶ "For behold, I am ^(C1)raising up the ^(F1)Chaldeans who rule in ^(F2)Babylon,
That fierce and impetuous nation
Who march throughout the earth
To ^(C2)take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them. ^(VR1)

⁷ "The Chaldeans are dreaded and ^(C1)feared;
Their ^(C2)justice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.

⁸ "Their ^(C1)horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than hungry ^(C2)wolves in the evening,
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from far away;
They fly like an ^(C3)eagle swooping down to devour.

⁹ "They all come for violence;
Their horde of ^(C1)faces moves eagerly forward,
They gather prisoners like sand.

¹⁰ "They ^(C1)make fun of kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They ^(C2)ridicule every stronghold
And ^(C3)heap up rubble for earth mounds and capture it.

¹¹ "Then they will sweep by like the ^(C1)wind and pass on.
But they will be held ^(C2)guilty,
They and all men whose own ^(C3)power and strength is their god."

¹² Are You not from ^(C1)everlasting,
O LORD, my God, My Holy One?
We will not die.
O LORD, You have ^(C2)appointed the Chaldeans who rule in Babylon to execute Your judgment,
And You, ^(C3)O Rock, have established them to correct and chastise. ^(VR1)

¹³ Your eyes are too ^(C1)pure to approve evil,
And You cannot look favorably on wickedness.
Why then do You ^(C2)look favorably
On those who act ^(C3)treacherously?
Why are you ^(C4)silent when the wicked (Chaldean oppressors) ^(C5)destroy
Those more righteous than they?

¹⁴ Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,
Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler and are helpless against their enemies?

¹⁵ The Chaldeans ^(C1)bring all of them up with a hook,
And ^(C2)drag them away with a net,
And gather them together in their fishing net;
So they rejoice and are glad.

¹⁶ Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through ^(C1)these things their catch is large and they live luxuriously,
And their food is plentiful.

¹⁷ Will they continue to empty their ^(C1)net
And mercilessly go on ^(C2)destroying nations without sparing?