1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

1 Onus quod vidit Habacuc propheta.

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

2 ¶ Usquequo, Domine, clamabo,
et non exaudies?
vociferabor ad te, vim patiens,
et non salvabis?

3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.

3 Quare ostendisti mihi iniquitatem et laborem,
videre prædam et injustitiam contra me?
Et factum est judicium, et contradictio potentior.

4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

4 Propter hoc lacerata est lex,
et non pervenit usque ad finem judicium;
quia impius prævalet adversus justum,
propterea egreditur judicium perversum.

5 ¶ Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

5 Aspicite in gentibus, et videte;
admiramini, et obstupescite:
quia opus factum est in diebus vestris,
quod nemo credet cum narrabitur.

6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.

6 Quia ecce ego suscitabo Chaldæos,
gentem amaram et velocem,
ambulantem super latitudinem terræ,
ut possideat tabernacula non sua.

7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.

7 Horribilis et terribilis est:
ex semetipsa judicium et onus ejus egredietur.

8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

8 Leviores pardis equi ejus,
et velociores lupis vespertinis:
et diffundentur equites ejus:
equites namque ejus de longe venient;
volabunt quasi aquila festinans ad comedendum.

9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

9 Omnes ad prædam venient,
facies eorum ventus urens;
et congregabit quasi arenam captivitatem.

10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.

10 Et ipse de regibus triumphabit,
et tyranni ridiculi ejus erunt;
ipse super omnem munitionem ridebit,
et comportabit aggerem, et capiet eam.

11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.

11 Tunc mutabitur spiritus, et pertransibit, et corruet:
hæc est fortitudo ejus dei sui.

12 ¶ Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

12 ¶ Numquid non tu a principio,
Domine, Deus meus, sancte meus,
et non moriemur?
Domine, in judicium posuisti eum,
et fortem, ut corriperes, fundasti eum.

13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

13 Mundi sunt oculi tui, ne videas malum,
et respicere ad iniquitatem non poteris.
Quare respicis super iniqua agentes,
et taces devorante impio justiorem se?

14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

14 Et facies homines quasi pisces maris,
et quasi reptile non habens principem.

15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

15 Totum in hamo sublevavit,
traxit illud in sagena sua,
et congregavit in rete suum.
Super hoc lætabitur, et exsultabit.

16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.

16 Propterea immolabit sagenæ suæ,
et sacrificabit reti suo,
quia in ipsis incrassata est pars ejus,
et cibus ejus electus.

17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

17 Propter hoc ergo expandit sagenam suam,
et semper interficere gentes non parcet.