Habakkuk 1:6-13

6I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.

7They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like.

8Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.

9“On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.

10They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them!

11They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

12O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins.

13But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?