Habakkuk 1:5

Habakkuk 1:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
• New International Version (NIV)“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

Context of Habakkuk 1:5

3Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. 4This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted. Look at the nations and observe — be utterly astounded! For I am doing something in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it. 6Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth’s open spaces to seize territories not its own. 7They are fierce and terrifying; their views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves.

Habakkuk 1:5 word by word

רְא֤וּ בַגּוֹיִם֙ וְֽהַבִּ֔יטוּ וְהִֽתַּמְּה֖וּ תְּמָ֑הוּ כִּי־פֹ֙עַל֙ פֹּעֵ֣ל בִּֽימֵיכֶ֔ם לֹ֥א תַאֲמִ֖ינוּ כִּ֥י יְסֻפָּֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Beholdרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• ye among the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• and regardנָבַטnâbaţ · to lookH5027
• and wonderתָּמַהּtâmahh · to astoundedH8539
• will workפָּעַלpâ‛al · to workH6466
• a workפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
• in your daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• ye will not believeאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
• though it be toldסָפַרsâphar · to recountH5608

Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:5

• Deuteronomy 4:27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you.
• Jeremiah 9:25“‘Look, the days are coming — this is the Lord’s declaration — when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:
• Jeremiah 25:14For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’”
• Isaiah 29:14Therefore, I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.
• Lamentations 4:12The kings of the earth and all the world’s inhabitants did not believe that an enemy or adversary could enter Jerusalem’s gates.
• Daniel 9:12He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.
• Acts 13:40So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:
• Isaiah 28:21For the Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim. He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon, to do his work, his unexpected work, and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
• Jeremiah 5:12They have contradicted the Lord and insisted, “It won’t happen. Harm won’t come to us; we won’t see sword or famine.”
• Jeremiah 18:18Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let’s denounce him and pay no attention to all his words.”
• Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel, which goes, ‘The days keep passing by, and every vision fails’?
• Zephaniah 1:2I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth — this is the Lord’s declaration.
• Acts 6:13They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law.

Commentaries on Habakkuk 1:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Behold ye among the heathen - Instead of בגוים baggoyim, among the nations or heathen, some critics think we should read בגדים bogedim, transgressors; and to the same purpose the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic have read; and thus it is quoted by St. Paul Acts 13:41. But neither this, nor any tantamount reading, is found in any of the MSS. yet collated. Newcome translates, "See, ye transgressors, and behold a wonder, and perish." I will work a work in your…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Behold ye among the heathen - The whole tone of the words suddenly changes. The Jews flattered themselves that, being the people of God, He would not fulfill His threats upon them. They had become like the pagan in wickedness; God bids them look out among them for the instrument of His displeasure. It was an aggravation of their punishment, that God, who had once chosen them, would now choose these whom He had not chosen, to chasten them. So Moses had…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Look … observe: Two different Hebrew verbs are also translated as see and tolerate in Habakkuk 1:3. This creates a literary connection between Habakkuk’s questions in Habakkuk 1:3 and God’s reply in 1:5–11.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Behold ... marvellously ... a work--(Compare Is 29:14). Quoted by Paul (Ac 13:41). among the heathen--In Ac 13:41, "ye despisers," from the Septuagint. So the Syriac and Arabic versions; perhaps from a different Hebrew reading. In the English Version reading of Habakkuk, God, in reply to the prophet's expostulation, addresses the Jews as about to be punished, "Behold ye among the heathen (with whom ye deserve to be classed, and by whom ye shall be…Read the comment

Topics related to Habakkuk 1:5

• Babylon
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions

In the dictionaries

• Possess
• Pure
• Scoff
• Wrong
• Habakkuk
• Judah, Kingdom of
• Marvel; Marvelous
• believe, believer, belief, unbeliever, unbelief

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