Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, October 30th, 2024
the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Habakkuk 1:4

The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God Continued...;   Justice;   Punishment;   Rulers;   Wicked (People);   Zeal, Religious;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Injustice;   Strife;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Justice;   Prayer;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Habakkuk;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Suffering;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Habakkuk;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Eternity;   Justification (2);  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Habakkuk;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Day of the Lord;   Job, the Book of;   Optimism and Pessimism;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for January 31;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
The law is weak and not fair to people. Evil people win their fights against good people. So the law is no longer fair, and justice does not win anymore.
New American Standard Bible
Therefore the Law is ignored, And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out confused.
New Century Version
So the teachings are weak, and justice never comes. Evil people gain while good people lose; the judges no longer make fair decisions.
Update Bible Version
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice does never go forth; for the wicked compasses about the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.
Webster's Bible Translation
Therefore the law is slackened, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth encompass the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Amplified Bible
Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored And justice is never upheld, For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore, justice becomes perverted.
English Standard Version
So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
World English Bible
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For this thing lawe is `to-brokun, and doom cometh not til to the ende; for the vnpitouse man hath miyt ayens the iust, therfor weiward doom schal go out.
English Revised Version
Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
Berean Standard Bible
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous; therefore, justice is perverted.
Contemporary English Version
Laws cannot be enforced; justice is always the loser; criminals crowd out honest people and twist the laws around.
American Standard Version
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted.
Bible in Basic English
For this reason the law is feeble and decisions are not effected: for the upright man is circled round by evil-doers; because of which right is twisted.
Complete Jewish Bible
Therefore Torah is not followed; justice never gets rendered, because the wicked fence in the righteous. This is why justice comes out perverted.
Darby Translation
Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Therefore the law is slacked, and right doth never go forth; for the wicked doth beset the righteous; therefore right goeth forth perverted.
King James Version (1611)
Therefore the Lawe is slacked, and iudgement doeth neuer goe foorth: for the wicked doeth compasse about the righteous: therfore wrong iudgement proceedeth.
New Life Bible
The Law is not followed. What is right is never done. For the sinful are all around those who are right and good, so what is right looks like sin.
New Revised Standard
So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore the Lawe is dissolued, and iudgement doeth neuer go forth: for the wicked doeth compasse about the righteous: therefore wrong iudgement proceedeth.
George Lamsa Translation
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surely does evil to the righteous; thus justice goes forth perverted.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For which cause, benumbed is the law, and there is never any going forth of justice, - for, the lawless, doth circumvent the righteous, for which cause, justice doth go forth perverted?
Douay-Rheims Bible
Therefore the law is torn in pieces, and judgment cometh not to the end: because the wicked prevaileth against the just, therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
Revised Standard Version
So the law is slacked and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Therfore the law is dissolued, & iudgement doth neuer go foorth: for the wicked doth compasse about the righteous, therfore wrong iudgement proceedeth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Therefore the law is frustrated, and judgment proceeds not effectually, for the ungodly man prevails over the just; therefore perverse judgment will proceed.
Good News Translation
The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.
Christian Standard Bible®
This is why the law is ineffectiveand justice never emerges.For the wicked restrict the righteous;therefore, justice comes out perverted.
Hebrew Names Version
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.
King James Version
Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Lexham English Bible
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice does not go forth perpetually. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.
Literal Translation
On account of this the law has become feeble, and justice does not go forth with continuity. For the wicked surrounds the righteous, so justice goes forth, being perverted.
Young's Literal Translation
Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
for the lawe is torne in peces, and there can no right iudgment go forth. And why? the vngodly is more set by then the rightuous: this is the cause, yt wronge iudgment procedeth.
New English Translation
For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted.
New King James Version
Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.
Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore the law is ignored,And justice never comes forth.For the wicked surround the righteous;Therefore justice comes forth perverted.

Contextual Overview

1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. 2 How long, O Lord , must I call for help? But you do not listen! "Violence is everywhere!" I cry, but you do not come to save. 3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. 4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the law: Psalms 11:3, Psalms 119:126, Mark 7:9, Romans 3:31

for: 1 Kings 21:13, Job 21:7, Psalms 22:16, Psalms 58:1, Psalms 58:2, Psalms 59:2, Psalms 59:4, Psalms 82:1-5, Psalms 94:3, Psalms 94:20, Psalms 94:21, Isaiah 1:21-23, Isaiah 59:2-8, Isaiah 59:13-15, Jeremiah 5:27-29, Jeremiah 12:1, Jeremiah 12:6, Jeremiah 26:8, Jeremiah 26:21-23, Jeremiah 37:14-16, Jeremiah 38:4-6, Ezekiel 22:25-30, Hosea 10:4, Amos 5:7, Amos 5:12, Micah 2:1, Micah 2:2, Micah 3:1-3, Micah 7:2-4, Matthew 23:34-36, Matthew 26:59-66, Matthew 27:1, Matthew 27:2, Matthew 27:25, Matthew 27:26, Acts 7:52, Acts 7:59, Acts 23:12-14, James 2:6, James 2:7

wrong: or, wrested, Exodus 23:2, Exodus 23:6, Deuteronomy 16:19, Ezekiel 9:9

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 25:1 - General 2 Samuel 4:11 - when wicked Isaiah 59:14 - General Amos 6:12 - for Habakkuk 1:13 - the wicked John 8:15 - judge Acts 8:33 - judgment 2 Peter 3:16 - wrest

Cross-References

Genesis 1:10
God called the dry ground "land" and the waters "seas." And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:12
The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:18
to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:25
God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:31
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Ecclesiastes 2:13
I thought, "Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
Ecclesiastes 11:7
Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Therefore the law is slacked,.... Is not put into execution against offenders: the civil magistrates, whose office it is to do justice according to law, are dilatory, and do not proceed with vigour and spirit against the transgressors of it, and in favour of honest and good men oppressed: or "it intermits" r, or is "intermitted"; it is like a man whose pulse beats low, and is scarce perceived, which is a sign that he is not in good health as the body politic is not, when the law, which is the soul of it, is not suffered to take place, and do its office. So the Targum,

"the law languishes;''

loses its force and vigour, and is ready to expire; which is a sad symptom of the bad estate of a commonwealth.

And judgment doth never go forth; at least not right, to the justifying of the righteous, acquitting the innocent, and giving the cause on the right side; condemning the wicked, and punishing offenders as their crime deserves: it never appears as it should do; it is either not done at all, or done badly and perversely:

for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; to hurt him or ensnare him, and by frauds and wicked artifices, and false witnesses, to carry a cause against him:

therefore wrong judgment proceedeth; the cause is given on the wrong side, against a good man, and for a wicked man; all these things the prophet saw with grief, and complained of to the Lord, from whom he has an answer in the following words:

r תפוג "intermittitur", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Burkius פוג "est, animi deliquium pati", Tarnovius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Therefore - i. e., Because God seemed not to awake to avenge His own cause, people promised themselves that they might sin on with impunity. Sin produces sin, and wrong produces wrong; it spreads like an infectious disease, propagating itself, and each, to whom it reaches, adds to its poison. At last, it reached those also, who should be in God’s stead to restrain it. The divine law itself is silenced, by the power of the wicked, by the sin of the judge, the hopelessness of all. When all around is evil, even those not yet lost are tempted to think; “Why should I be other than they? What evil befalls them? Why stand alone?” Even a Psalmist Psalms 73:15, Psalms 73:12-13 speaks as if tempted to “speak even as they. These are the ungodly who prosper in the world; they increase in riches; verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency;” and Solomon Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

The law is slacked - literally “is chilled” (as we say, “is paralyzed”), through lack of the fire of love. This is what our Lord says Matthew 24:12, Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. The divine law, the source of all right, being chilled in people’s hearts, “judgment,” i. e., the sentence of human justice, as conformed to divine justice, “doth never go forth.” Human sense of right is powerless, when there is not the love of God’s law. It seems always ready to act, but always falls short, like an arrow from an unstrung bow. The man seems always about to do right; he judges, sees, aright - all but does it - yet, at last, he always fails. “It goes not forth. The children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth” Isaiah 37:3.

For the wicked doth compass about the righteous, laying snares for him, as the Jews for our Lord; evil is too strong for a weak will to do right, and overbears it. Pilate sought in many ways, how he might deliver Jesus, yet he finally did deliver Christ into their hands.

Therefore wrong judgment proceedeth - literally, “judgment proceedeth wrested.” He had said, “it never goes forth;” never, that is, in its true character; for, when it does “go forth,” it is distorted. Dion.: “For gifts or favor or fear or hate the guiltless are condemned trod the guilty acquitted, as saith the Psalmist Psalms 82:2, ‘How long will ye judge unjustly and accept the persons of the ungodly?’” Theoph.: “‘Judgment goes forth perverted’ in the seat of man’s judgment (the soul), when, bribed by the pleasures of sense, it leans to the side of things seen, and the ungodly one, the rebel angel, besets and overpowers him who has the sense of right; for it is right that things seen should give way to things unseen 2 Corinthians 4:18; ‘for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.’” Why then all this? And how long? Why does God bring it before him and He who “is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, behold grievance,” which His Holy Eyes could not endure? Neither the unseen presence of God nor the mission of the prophet checks. If he rebukes, no one hearkened; if he intercedes for sinners, or against sin, God made as though He would not hear. God answers that, though to man’s impatience the time seems long, judgment shall come, and that, suddenly and speedily. While the righteous is enquiring, “how long?” and the wicked is saying Matthew 24:48, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” He is come, and seen in the midst of them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 4. The law is slacked — They pay no attention to it; it has lost all its vigour, its restraining and correcting power, it is not executed; right judgment is never pronounced; and the poor righteous man complains in vain that he is grievously oppressed by the wicked, and by those in power and authority. That the utmost depravity prevailed in the land of Judah is evident from these verses; and can we wonder, then, that God poured out such signal judgments upon them? When judgment doth not proceed from the seat of judgment upon earth, it will infallibly go forth from the throne of judgment in heaven.


 
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