Hab 1:1-11 | ESV | STEP | The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw .

2 O Lord, ^bhow long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ^c“Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 ^dWhy do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction ^eand violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 ^fSo the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
^gFor the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

5 ^h“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
ⁱFor I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, ^jI am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
^kwho march through the breadth of the earth,
^lto seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
^mtheir justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 ⁿTheir horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than ^othe evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
^pthey fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come ^qfor violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives ^rlike sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
^sThey laugh at every fortress,
for ^tthey pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
^uguilty men, ^vwhose own might is their god!”