Habakkuk 1:13

1:13 You are too just ¹  to tolerate ²  evil;

you are unable to condone ³  wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ⁴ 

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ⁵  those more righteous than they are? ⁶ 

Habakkuk 1:3

1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? ⁷ 

Why do you put up with wrongdoing? ⁸ 

Destruction and violence confront ⁹  me;

conflict is present and one must endure strife. ¹⁰ 

Habakkuk 2:15

2:15 “You who force your neighbor to drink wine ¹¹  are as good as dead ¹²  –

you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, ¹³ 

so you can look at their genitals. ¹⁴ 

Habakkuk 1:5

The Lord Reveals Some Startling News

1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! ¹⁵ 

You will be shocked and amazed! ¹⁶ 

For I will do something in your lifetime ¹⁷ 

that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. ¹⁸ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”

[1:13]  ³ tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Or “swallow up.”

[1:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?”

[1:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “are before.”

[1:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and there is conflict and strife he lifts up.” The present translation takes the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) in the sense of “carry, bear,” and understands the subject to be indefinite (“one”).

[2:15]  ¹³ tn No direct object is present after “drink” in the Hebrew text. “Wine” is implied, however, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ¹⁴ tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:15]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “pouring out your anger and also making drunk”; or “pouring out your anger and [by] rage making drunk.” The present translation assumes that the final khet (ח) on מְסַפֵּחַ (misapeakh, “pouring”) is dittographic and that the form should actually be read מִסַּף (missaf, “from a bowl”).

[2:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their nakedness,” a euphemism.

[1:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “look among the nations and observe.” The imperatival forms in v. 5 are plural, indicating that the Lord’s message is for the whole nation, not just the prophet.

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of the verb תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). A literal translation might read, “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sounds draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572-73 §34.4c.

[1:5]  ²¹ tc Heb “for a work working in your days.” Following the LXX reading, some supply a first person singular pronoun with the participle פֹּעֵל (po’el). Ellipsis of a first singular pronoun before participles is relatively rare (see GKC 360 §116.s); perhaps an original אֲנֹכִי (’anoki; or אֲנִי, ’aniy) followed the initial כִּי (ki) and was omitted by homoioteleuton.

[1:5]  ²² tn Heb “you will not believe when it is told.” In this context the force of כִּי (ki) may be “when,” “if,” or “even though.”