King James Version
Habakkuk
Habakkuk in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of Habakkuk: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | Habakkuk the prophet. Nothing else is known of him. |
|---|---|
| Date | About 612–589 BC in one survey, as the Chaldeans rise. |
| Place written | Judah, probably Jerusalem. |
| Genre | Prophetic dialogue and psalm. |
| Chapters | 3 |
| Verses | 56 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | Habakkuk 2:4Habakkuk 2:4 · King James VersionBehold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.Habakkuk 2:4 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
Habakkuk 1:1Habakkuk 1:1 · King James VersionThe burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Habakkuk 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Habakkuk 3:1Habakkuk 3:1 · King James VersionA prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
Habakkuk 3:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) name Habakkuk the prophet. The Twelve were collected, per the Talmud, by the men of the Great Assembly. (2)
Who It Is Not
The Greek Bel and the Dragon tells a story of Habakkuk. It is not part of the Protestant canon.
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives 612–589 BC. (5) Habakkuk 1:6Habakkuk 1:6 · King James VersionFor, 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.
Habakkuk 1:6 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) says God is raising up the Chaldeans.
Audience and Setting
Judah before the Babylonian invasion. The purpose is to wrestle with God’s justice and to teach trust.
Rulers at the Time
The book names no king. This page adds none.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| First complaint | Habakkuk 1:1–11Habakkuk 1:1–11 · King James Version1:1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!1:3 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.1:4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.1:5 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.1:6 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.1:7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.1:8 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.1:9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.1:10 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.1:11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.Habakkuk 1:1–11 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Second complaint and answer | Habakkuk 1:12–2:20Habakkuk 1:12–2:20 · King James Version1:12 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.1:13 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?1:14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?1:15 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.1:16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.1:17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:2:6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!2:7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?2:8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.2:9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!2:10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.2:11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.2:12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!2:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!2:16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.2:17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.2:18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.Habakkuk 1:12–2:20 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Prayer | Habakkuk 3 |
| Composition | 612–589 BC in one survey. (5) |
Places in This Book
The book names Teman and Mount Paran in its poem, in Habakkuk 3:3Habakkuk 3:3 · King James VersionGod came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
Habakkuk 3:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Their locations are uncertain, and this page does not choose.
What Is Happening
Habakkuk 1 asks why God allows injustice and why he would use Babylon. Habakkuk 2 answers that the just shall live by faith and pronounces woes. Habakkuk 3 is a psalm of trust.
Key Themes
Faith in Habakkuk 2:4Habakkuk 2:4 · King James VersionBehold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Trust in suffering in Habakkuk 3:17–18Habakkuk 3:17–18 · King James Version3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17–18 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
The book raises the problem of evil directly and answers with God’s justice in his time.
How the Book Points to Christ
Paul quotes the just shall live by his faith, Habakkuk 2:4Habakkuk 2:4 · King James VersionBehold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 · King James VersionOpen the Source, in Romans 1:17Romans 1:17 · King James VersionFor therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Romans 1:17 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Galatians 3:11Galatians 3:11 · King James VersionBut that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Galatians 3:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Jesus is God.
Text and Manuscripts
A commentary on Habakkuk was among the Qumran finds. This page did not check its catalogue entry. (6)
Canon Reception
Received with the Twelve. (4) (3)
Further Reading
References
- Book of Habakkuk, 1:1; 1:6; 3:1Habakkuk 1:1 · King James Version
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Habakkuk 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source. King James Version - Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 15a, 15a (The William Davidson English on Sefaria is copyrighted. This page paraphrases it and does not reprint it. The page continues the list of writers and the debate about it.)
- Against Apion, 1.8Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William Whiston
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another: [as the Greeks have:] but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death.
Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William WhistonOpen the Source (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion 1.8, translated by William Whiston. Josephus counts twenty-two books: five of Moses, thirteen of the prophets from Moses to Artaxerxes, and four of hymns and precepts.) - Festal Letter 39, 39.4–5 (Athanasius of Alexandria, AD 367, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 4, on New Advent. The letter lists twenty-two Old Testament books and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and places Esther among books to be read rather than in the canon.)
- When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, Habakkuk (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives Habakkuk as 612–589 BC. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Dead Sea Scrolls, introduction, Biblical manuscriptsDead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities Authority
Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).
Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities AuthorityOpen the Source (Israel Antiquities Authority. Biblical manuscripts from the Qumran caves date from the third century BC into the first century AD, and every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther is represented.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.