EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Habakkuk 1:4
4The law has no power to make things right. There is no justice in the courts. Instead, wicked people win against good people. The judges decide that bad people are good.
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
2Lord, how long must I call out to you for help? You do not listen to me! I shout aloud to you, ‘Violence is everywhere!’ but you do nothing to make us safe. 3You cause me to see many things that are not right. You do not punish people who are doing wrong things. Why do you let that happen? People do cruel things and there is violence everywhere. They argue and they fight and they quarrel. The law has no power to make things right. There is no justice in the courts. Instead, wicked people win against good people. The judges decide that bad people are good. 5‘All of you, look carefully at the other nations. You will be very surprised at what is happening. While you are still alive, I will do a very surprising thing. You would not believe it even if someone told you. 6I will give more power to the Babylonians. They are a cruel nation with brave soldiers. They march across the whole earth. They take cities 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 11:3When the law no longer has authority, righteous people can do nothing!’
- Psalms 119:126It is time for you to do something, Lord, because people have turned against your Law.
- Mark 7:9He said to them, ‘You refuse to obey God's rules, because then you can keep your own ideas!
- Romans 3:31What does this show us about God's Law which he gave to Moses? When we say that all people need to believe in Jesus, does that mean that God's Law has no purpose? No! When we believe in Jesus, we are showing the true purpose of God's Law.
- 1 Kings 21:13Then two wicked men came and they sat near to him. They accused Naboth so that the people could all hear them. They said, ‘Naboth has insulted God and the king.’ So the people took him outside the city. They threw stones at him until he was dead.
- Job 21:7Why do wicked people continue to live for a long time? The older they become, the more power they have.
- Psalms 22:16Wicked people are everywhere around me. They are ready to attack me, like a group of wild dogs. They tear apart my hands and my feet.
- Psalms 58:1Do you rulers really say what is right? Do you judge people in a fair way?
- Psalms 59:2Rescue me from those dangerous men, who are doing evil things.
- Psalms 82:1God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven. He sits on his throne to judge them.
- Psalms 94:3How long will wicked people continue to be happy? Yes, Lord, how long?
- Isaiah 1:21Oh! Jerusalem! Once you loved the Lord, as a wife loves her husband. But now you have become like a prostitute! At one time, the city was full of justice, and honest people lived there. But now the city is full of murderers!
- Isaiah 59:2But the wrong things that you have done have made you separate from your God. Your sins have caused him to turn away from you, so that he does not listen to your prayers.
- Jeremiah 5:27Their houses are full of valuable things, like a trap that is full of beautiful birds. They have cheated people and they have robbed them. That is how they have become rich and powerful.
- Jeremiah 12:1Lord, when I complain to you, you always do what is right. But I must ask you about your justice. Why do wicked people have success in life? Why do people who cheat their friends live in comfort?
- Jeremiah 26:8Jeremiah said everything that the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. Just as he finished, some of the priests, the prophets, and the people took hold of him. They shouted, ‘You deserve to 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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