Habakkuk 1:6-13

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.

7They cause people to be very afraid. They obey no laws except their own rules.

8Their horses run faster than leopards. They are more cruel than wolves that attack in the evening. Their riders come on fast horses from places that are far away. They quickly attack their enemies, like hungry eagles that fly down to catch chickens.

9Their whole army comes to do violent things. They march forward like a wind from the desert. They make people their prisoners, as easily as if they are picking up sand.

10They insult kings, and they laugh at rulers. They laugh at all the strong cities of their enemies. They build heaps of earth against the walls, and they take those cities for themselves.

11Their army quickly moves on to another place, like a wind that blows. They think that their own god has made them strong, and so they are guilty.’

12Lord, you have always been God, since the beginning. You are the God that I worship as holy, and you will never die. Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians as your weapon to punish your people. You are a strong rock to protect us, but you have decided to use them to punish us.

13But you are too holy to accept anything that is evil. You cannot agree with people who do wrong things. So why do you let these wicked people live? Why do you say nothing? They are killing people who are more righteous than themselves.