New King James Version
Habakkuk 1:4
4Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
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 Living Translation (NLT)The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.
Context of Habakkuk 1:4
2O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. 3Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. 5“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. 6For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore the lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
- is slackedפּוּגpûg · be numbH6313
- and judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- doth neverנֵ֫צַחnetsach nêtsach · perpetuityH5331
- go forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- for the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- doth compassכָּתַרkâthar · to surroundH3803
- about the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- therefore wrongעָקַל‛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 You to act, O Lord, For they have regarded Your law as void.
- Mark 7:9He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
- Romans 3:31Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
- 1 Kings 21:13And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.
- Job 21:7Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power?
- Psalms 22:16For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
- Psalms 59:2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men.
- Psalms 82:1God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
- Psalms 94:3Lord, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?
- Isaiah 1:21How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.
- Isaiah 59:2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
- Jeremiah 5:27As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
- Jeremiah 12:1Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
- Jeremiah 26:8Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries