God’s Word Translation
Habakkuk 1:5
5Look among the nations and watch. Be amazed and astonished. I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if it were reported to you.
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 make me see wrongdoing? And why do you watch wickedness? Destruction and violence are in front of me. Quarrels and disputes arise. 4That is why your teaching is numbed, and justice is never carried out. Wicked people surround righteous people so that when justice is carried out, it’s perverted. Look among the nations and watch. Be amazed and astonished. I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if it were reported to you. 6I am going to send the Babylonians, that fierce and reckless nation. They will march throughout the earth to take possession of lands that don’t belong to them. 7They will be terrifying and fearsome. They will carry out their own kind of justice and honor.
Read all of Habakkuk 1Habakkuk 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 people of the world, and only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will force you to live.
- Jeremiah 9:25“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised.
- Jeremiah 25:14Many nations and great kings will make slaves of the people of Babylon, and I will pay them back for what they have done.”
- Isaiah 29:14That is why I am going to do something completely amazing for these people once again. The wisdom of their wise people will disappear. The intelligence of their intelligent people will be hidden.”
- Lamentations 4:12Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem.
- Daniel 9:12So you did what you said you would do to us and our rulers by bringing a great disaster on us. Nowhere in the world has anything ever happened like what has happened to Jerusalem.
- Acts 13:40“Be careful, or what the prophets said may happen to you.
- Isaiah 28:21The Lord will rise as he did on Mount Perazim. He will wake up as he did in Gibeon Valley. He will do his work, his unexpected work, and perform his deeds, his mysterious deeds.
- Jeremiah 5:12They lie about the Lord and say, “He doesn’t exist! Nothing bad will happen to us. We won’t experience war or famine.
- Jeremiah 18:18Then they said, “Let’s plot against Jeremiah, because the teachings of the priests, the advice of wise people, and the word of the prophets won’t disappear. Accuse him! Pay no attention to anything he says.”
- Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in Israel: ‘Days go by, and every vision comes to nothing’?
- Zephaniah 1:2“I will gather everything on the face of the earth and put an end to it,” declares the Lord.
- Acts 6:13Some witnesses stood up and lied about Stephen. They said, “This man never stops saying bad things about the holy place and Moses’ Teachings.
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
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries