English Standard Version
Habakkuk 1:2
2O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?
Habakkuk 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
- New International Version (NIV)How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?
- New King James Version (NKJV)O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.
- New Living Translation (NLT)How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save.
Context of Habakkuk 1:2
1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 3Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
Read all of Habakkuk 1Habakkuk 1:2 word by word
עַד־אָ֧נָה יְהוָ֛ה שִׁוַּ֖עְתִּי וְלֹ֣א תִשְׁמָ֑ע אֶזְעַ֥ק אֵלֶ֛יךָ חָמָ֖ס וְלֹ֥א תוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:2
- Psalms 13:1How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
- Psalms 74:9We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.
- Psalms 94:3O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
- Revelation 6:10They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
- Psalms 22:1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
- Jeremiah 14:9Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us."
- Lamentations 3:8though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2O Lord, how long shall I cry - The prophet feels himself strongly excited against the vices which he beheld; and which, it appears from this verse, he had often declaimed against, but in vain; the people continued in their vices, and God in his longsuffering. Habakkuk begins his prophecy under a similar feeling, and nearly in similar words, as Juvenal did his Satires: - Semper ego auditor tantum? Nunquamne reponam? Vexatus toties rauci Theseide Codri?…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2O Lord, how long shall I cry - Literally, “how long have I cried so intensely to Thee?” Because it is always the cry of the creature to the One who alone can hear or help - its God. Of this cry the Prophet expresses that it had already lasted long. In that long past he had cried out to God but no change had come. There is an undefined past, and this still continues. How long - as Asaph cries, “how long hast Thou been,” and, it is implied, wilt Thou be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2I call for help but You do not hear: The call and answer theme in Scripture often shows the speaker's trust in God as a refuge or guide (see Psalm 102:1–2). It also indicates a close relationship between the believer and God (Psalm 145:18; Isaiah 65:24).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. violence ... Why dost thou show me iniquity?--Similar language is used of the Chaldeans (Ha 1:9, 13), as here is used of the Jews: implying, that as the Jews sinned by violence and injustice, so they should be punished by violence and injustice (Pr 1:31). Jehoiakim's reign was marked by injustice, treachery, and bloodshed (Jr 22:3, 13-17). Therefore the Chaldeans should be sent to deal with him and his nobles according to their dealings with others…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 1:2
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries