Tree of Life Version
Habakkuk 1:4
4Therefore, Torah has no effect, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked encircle the righteous Therefore justice comes out perverted.
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, Adonai, have I cried for help, yet You do not hear? I cry out to You—‘Violence!’ yet You do not deliver. 3Why do You show me wickedness, and why must I behold mischief? Yes, devastation and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention arises. Therefore, Torah has no effect, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked encircle the righteous Therefore justice comes out perverted. 5“Look among the nations! Observe! Astonish yourself! Be astounded! For a work is being done in your days. You will not believe it if it were told. 6For I am about to raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation, marching all over the land, to seize dwellings not its own.
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 our foundations are destroyed, what should the righteous do?”
- Psalms 119:126It is time for Adonai to act— they have violated Your Torah!
- Mark 7:9He was also telling them, “You set aside the commands of God, in order that you may validate your own tradition.
- Romans 3:31Do we then nullify the Torah through faithfulness? May it never be! On the contrary, we uphold the Torah.
- 1 Kings 21:13Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him, and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death.
- Job 21:7Why do the wicked go on living, growing old and increasing in power?
- Psalms 22:16My strength is dried up like a clay pot, my tongue clings to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death.
- Psalms 58:1For the music director: “Do Not Destroy,” a Michtam of David.
- Psalms 59:2Deliver me from my enemies, my God! Set me on high, away from those who rise up against me.
- Psalms 82:1A psalm of Asaph. God takes His stand in the assembly of God. He judges among the ‘gods’:
- Psalms 94:3How long will the wicked, Adonai, how long will the wicked gloat?
- Isaiah 1:21How the Faithful City became a harlot! She once was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her— but now murderers!
- Isaiah 59:2Rather, your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
- Jeremiah 5:27As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. That is why they grew great and rich.
- Jeremiah 12:1Righteous are You, Adonai, when I plead my case with You. Yet I speak with You about justice. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous thrive?
- Jeremiah 26:8Now when Jeremiah finished speaking all that Adonai had commanded him to speak to all the people, the kohanim and the prophets and all the people laid hold on 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
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