God’s Word Translation
Habakkuk 1:12
12Didn’t you exist before time began, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die! O Lord, you have appointed the Babylonians to bring judgment. O Rock, you have destined them to correct us.
Habakkuk 1:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
- New International Version (NIV)Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.
Context of Habakkuk 1:12
10They will make fun of kings and treat rulers as a joke. They will laugh at every fortified city and build a dirt ramp to capture it. 11They will move quickly and pass through like the wind. So they will be guilty, because their own strength is their god. Didn’t you exist before time began, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die! O Lord, you have appointed the Babylonians to bring judgment. O Rock, you have destined them to correct us. 13Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You can’t watch wickedness. Why do you keep watching treacherous people? Why are you silent when wicked people swallow those who are more righteous than they are? 14You make all people like the fish in the sea, like schools of sea life that have no ruler.
Read all of Habakkuk 1Habakkuk 1:12 word by word
הֲל֧וֹא אַתָּ֣ה מִקֶּ֗דֶם יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהַ֛י קְדֹשִׁ֖י לֹ֣א נָמ֑וּת יְהוָה֙ לְמִשְׁפָּ֣ט שַׂמְתּ֔וֹ וְצ֖וּר לְהוֹכִ֥יחַ יְסַדְתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- thou not from everlastingקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: oldH6924
- O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- my Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- mine Holy Oneקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
- we shall not dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- thou hast ordainedשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: appointH7760
- them for judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
- and, O mighty Godצוּרtsûr tsûr · rockH6697
- thou hast establishedיָסַדyâsad · to foundH3245
- them for correctionיָכַחyâkach · to rebukeH3198
Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:12
- Deuteronomy 33:27The eternal God is your shelter, and his everlasting arms support you. He will force your enemies out of your way and tell you to destroy them.
- Psalms 90:2Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, you were God. You are God from everlasting to everlasting.
- Psalms 93:2Your throne was set in place a long time ago. You are eternal.
- Isaiah 40:28Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The eternal God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t grow tired or become weary. His understanding is beyond reach.
- Isaiah 57:15The High and Lofty One lives forever, and his name is holy. This is what he says: I live in a high and holy place. But I am with those who are crushed and humble. I will renew the spirit of those who are humble and the courage of those who are crushed.
- Lamentations 5:19“But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever, and your reign continues throughout every generation.
- Micah 5:2You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are too small to be included among Judah’s cities. Yet, from you Israel’s future ruler will come for me. His origins go back to the distant past, to days long ago.
- 1 Timothy 1:17Worship and glory belong forever to the eternal king, the immortal, invisible, and only God. Amen.
- 1 Timothy 6:16He is the only one who cannot die. He lives in light that no one can come near. No one has seen him, nor can they see him. Honor and power belong to him forever! Amen.
- Hebrews 1:10God also said, “Lord, in the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth. With your own hands you made the heavens.
- Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- Revelation 1:8“I am the A and the Z,” says the Lord God, the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming, the Almighty.
- Isaiah 43:15I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
- Isaiah 49:7The Lord is the defender of Israel, its Holy One. This is what the Lord says to the despised one, to the one scorned by the nation, to the slave of rulers: Kings will see ⌞you⌟ and stand. Princes will see ⌞you⌟ and bow. The Lord is faithful. The Holy One of Israel has chosen you.
- Acts 3:14You rejected the man who was holy and innocent. You asked to have a murderer given to you,
- Habakkuk 3:2Lord, I have heard the report about you. Lord, I fear your work. In the course of the years, renew it. In the course of the years, reveal it. In all this chaos, remember to be merciful.
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Art thou not frown everlasting - The idols change, and their worshippers change and fail: but thou, Jehovah, art eternal; thou canst not change, and they who trust in thee are safe. Thou art infinite in thy mercy; therefore, "we shall not die," shall not be totally exterminated. Thou hast ordained them for judgment - Thou hast raised up the Chaldeans to correct and punish us; but thou hast not given them a commission to destroy us totally. Instead of נמות…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The prophet, having summed up the deeds of the enemy of God in this his end, sets forth his questions anew. He had appealed against the evil of the wicked of his people; he had been told of the vengeance by the Chaldaeans (Heading of Psalm 76:1-12) and Jeremiah Jeremiah 12:1, he sets down at the very beginning his entire trust in God, and so, in the name of all who at any time shall be perplexed about the order of God‘s judgments, asks how it shall be…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 However matters may be, yet God is the Lord our God, our Holy One. We are an offending people, he is an offended God, yet we will not entertain hard thoughts of him, or of his service. It is great comfort that, whatever mischief men design, the Lord designs good, and we are sure that his counsel shall stand. Though wickedness may prosper a while, yet God is holy, and does not approve the wickedness. As he cannot do iniquity himself, so he is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12Despite his confusion, Habakkuk did not abandon God. By saying my God, my Holy One, he showed his commitment to the Lord before asking important questions about what God had revealed to him. In light of God's character and covenant with Israel, Habakkuk was sure that God would not destroy his people. to execute judgment: Compare Hebrews 12:5–11. O Rock: This is a common image of God's faithfulness and strength (see Deuteronomy 32:15; 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. In opposition to the impious deifying of the Chaldeans power as their god (Maurer, or, as the English Version, their attributing of their successes to their idols), the prophet, in an impassioned address to Jehovah, vindicates His being "from everlasting," as contrasted with the Chaldean so-called "god." my God, mine Holy One--Habakkuk speaks in the name of his people. God was "the Holy One of Israel," against whom the Chaldean was setting up himself…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 1:12
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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