The Prophet's Cry for Justice
Habakkuk 1:1-4
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Revelation
Hab.1.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- המשא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חזה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חבקוק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנביא: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Nahum 1:1 (verbal): Begins with the same oracle/burden formula (מַשָּׂא), paralleling Habakkuk's opening word 'המשא'—a standard prophetic superscription.
- Isaiah 1:1 (structural): Opens with a vision superscription (חָזוֹן) attributing the revelation to the prophet—similar function to 'אשר חזה חבקוק.'
- Jeremiah 1:1 (thematic): A canonical prophetic superscription introducing the prophet and his message; parallels Habakkuk's opening as a book‑level introduction.
- Zephaniah 1:1 (structural): Begins with 'the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah,' another example of the prophetic‑revelation formula comparable to Habakkuk's opening.
- Habakkuk 3:1 (structural): Internal parallel within the same book: a heading ('A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet') that echoes the book's superscription and genre markers.
Alternative generated candidates
- The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
- The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Hab.1.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- אנה: ADV,interrog
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שועתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
- ולא: CONJ
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אזעק: VERB,qal,impf,1,-,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- חמס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- תושיע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 13:1 (verbal): Begins with the same lament 'How long, O LORD...?'—a direct verbal and thematic echo of persistent crying and asking why God does not respond.
- Psalm 22:1 (thematic): A raw cry to God from the depths ('My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?')—parallels Habakkuk's anguished questioning and sense of divine silence.
- Lamentations 3:8 (verbal): Lament over unanswered prayer ('When I called, he answered me not') mirrors Habakkuk's complaint that he cries out but God does not hear or save.
- Jeremiah 12:1 (thematic): A prophetic complaint about apparent divine injustice and the prosperity of wickedness—echoes Habakkuk's protest about violence going unpunished and God's nonintervention.
- Psalm 10:1 (thematic): Asks why God seems distant in times of trouble ('Why do you stand afar off?'), matching Habakkuk's cry about unanswered pleas amid violence.
Alternative generated candidates
- How long, O LORD, shall I call for help, and you will not hear? I cry to you, 'Violence!' yet you do not save.
- O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? I cry to you, “Violence!” yet you do not save.
Hab.1.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למה: ADV
- תראני: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועמל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תביט: VERB,qal,juss,2,m,sg
- ושד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחמס: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לנגדי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUF,1,com,sg
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- ריב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומדון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Habakkuk 1:2 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding complaint asks why God tolerates wrong and suffering, framing the same lament about injustice and violence.
- Habakkuk 1:4 (verbal): Continues the description of the coming oppressor in language of terror and violence—develops the same scene of destruction and strife.
- Jeremiah 12:1 (thematic): A prophetic complaint that questions why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer—shared theme of perplexity before widespread injustice.
- Psalm 73:3-12 (thematic): The psalmist laments the prosperity and violence of the wicked and the apparent success of injustice, reflecting Habakkuk’s shock at pervasive wrongdoing.
- Isaiah 59:7-8 (verbal): Graphic language about violence, bloodshed, and strife mirrors Habakkuk’s catalogue of oppression and social breakdown.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why do you show me wrongdoing and look on trouble? Destruction and violence stand before me; strife and contention arise.
- Why do you show me wrongdoing and look on trouble? Destruction and violence stand before me; strife and contention break out.
Hab.1.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- תפוג: VERB,qal,impf,3,sg
- תורה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מכתיר: VERB,piel,ptc,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הצדיק: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעקל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:14-15 (thematic): Both portray justice and righteousness driven away—'justice is driven back, and righteousness standeth afar off' echoes Habakkuk's complaint that the law is slack and judgment does not go forth.
- Micah 3:9-11 (verbal): Condemns corrupt leaders and judges who 'hate the good and love the evil' and build Zion with blood—parallels Habakkuk's charge that the wicked surround the righteous and justice is perverted.
- Amos 5:7 (verbal): 'Ye who turn judgment to wormwood' criticizes the twisting of justice; closely parallels Habakkuk's observation that 'wrong judgment proceedeth' when the wicked prevail.
- Psalm 94:20-21 (thematic): Speaks of a 'throne of iniquity' and those who 'gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,' echoing Habakkuk's image of the wicked surrounding the righteous and blocking right judgment.
- Proverbs 17:15 (thematic): Declares that justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous is abominable—directly addresses the moral inversion Habakkuk laments when law and justice fail.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous, therefore justice goes forth perverted.
- Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice does not go forth; for the wicked surround the righteous, and so justice goes forth perverted.
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? I cry out, 'Violence!' yet you do not save.
Why do you make me see wrongdoing and behold trouble? Devastation and violence stand before me; strife and contention arise.
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted.