New American Standard Bible 2020
Habakkuk 1:4
4Therefore the 1Law 2is ignored, And justice 3is never upheld. For the wicked 4surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out 5confused.
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
2How long, Lord, have I called for help, And You do not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. 3Why do You make me see disaster, And make me look at destitution? Yes, devastation and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the Law is ignored, And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out confused. 5“Look among the nations! Watch! Be horrified! Be frightened speechless! For I am accomplishing a work in your days-- You would not believe it even if you were told! 6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That grim and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth, To take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs.
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
- Thereforeעַל‛al · uponH5921
- Thereforeכֵּןkên · soH3651
- Lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
- is ignoredפּוּגpûg · be numbH6313
- And justiceמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- is neverלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- is neverנֵ֫צַחnetsach nêtsach · perpetuityH5331
- upheldיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- For the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- surroundכָּתַרkâthar · to surroundH3803
- the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- confusedעָקַל‛âqal · to twistH6127
Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:4
- Psalms 11:3If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”
- Psalms 119:126It is time for the Lord to act, For they have broken Your Law.
- Mark 7:9He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
- Romans 3:31Do we then nullify the Law through faith? Far from it! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
- 1 Kings 21:13Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.
- Job 21:7Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?
- Psalms 22:16For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you gods? Do you judge fairly, you sons of mankind?
- Psalms 59:2Rescue me from those who practice injustice, And save me from men of bloodshed.
- Psalms 82:1God takes His position in His assembly; He judges in the midst of the gods.
- Psalms 94:3How long, Lord, shall the wicked-- How long shall the wicked triumph?
- Isaiah 1:21How the faithful city has become a prostitute, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once dwelt in her, But now murderers.
- Isaiah 59:2But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
- Jeremiah 5:27Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.
- Jeremiah 12:1Righteous are You, Lord, when I plead my case with You; Nevertheless I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?
- Jeremiah 26:8Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must 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
Notes
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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