Amplified Bible
Habakkuk 1:4
4Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored And justice is never upheld, For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore, justice becomes perverted.
Habakkuk 1:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
- New International Version (NIV)Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Context of Habakkuk 1:4
2O Lord, how long will I call for help And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. 3Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? For destruction and violence are before me; Strife continues and contention arises. Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored And justice is never upheld, For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore, justice becomes perverted. 5[The Lord replied,] “Look among the nations! See! Be astonished! Wonder! For I am doing something in your days— You would not believe it if you were told. 6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon], That fierce and impetuous nation Who march throughout the earth To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them.
Read all of Habakkuk 1Habakkuk 1:4 word by word
עַל־כֵּן֙ תָּפ֣וּג תּוֹרָ֔ה וְלֹֽא־יֵצֵ֥א לָנֶ֖צַח מִשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּ֤י רָשָׁע֙ מַכְתִּ֣יר אֶת־הַצַּדִּ֔יק עַל־כֵּ֛ן יֵצֵ֥א מִשְׁפָּ֖ט מְעֻקָּֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore the lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
- is slackedפּוּגpûg · be numbH6313
- and judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- doth neverנֵ֫צַחnetsach nêtsach · perpetuityH5331
- go forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- for the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- doth compassכָּתַרkâthar · to surroundH3803
- about the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- therefore wrongעָקַל‛âqal · to twistH6127
Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:4
- Psalms 11:3If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”
- Psalms 119:126It is time for the Lord to act; They have broken Your law.
- Mark 7:9He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and regulations.
- Romans 3:31Do we then nullify the Law by this faith [making the Law of no effect, overthrowing it]? Certainly not! On the contrary, we confirm and establish and uphold the Law [since it convicts us all of sin, pointing to the need for salvation].
- 1 Kings 21:13Two worthless and unprincipled men came in and sat down opposite him; and they testified against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed and renounced God and the king.” Then they brought him outside the city and stoned him to death.
- Job 21:7Why do the wicked still live, Become old, and become mighty in power?
- Psalms 22:16For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me; A gang of evildoers has encircled me, They pierced my hands and my feet.
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods (heavenly beings)? Do you judge fairly, O sons of men?
- Psalms 59:2Deliver me from those who practice wrongdoing, And save me from bloodthirsty men.
- Psalms 82:1God stands in the divine assembly; He judges among the gods (divine beings).
- Psalms 94:3O Lord, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked rejoice in triumph?
- Isaiah 1:21How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable], She who was full of justice! Right standing with God once lodged in her, But now murderers.
- Isaiah 59:2But your wickedness has separated you from your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
- Jeremiah 5:27As a cage is full of birds, So are their houses full of deceit and treachery; Therefore they have become influential and rich.
- Jeremiah 12:1You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You; Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?
- Jeremiah 26:8Now when Jeremiah finished proclaiming everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the [false] prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The law is slacked - They pay no attention to it; it has lost all its vigor, 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Therefore - 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Habakkuk shares his worry about the injustice and wrongdoing he observed everywhere (see Habakkuk 1:12–13; 2:4, 9), even in the courts, where the law failed to uphold justice.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Therefore--because Thou dost suffer such crimes to go unpunished. law is slacked--is chilled. It has no authority and secures no respect. judgment--justice. wrong judgment proceedeth--Decisions are given contrary to right.Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 1:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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