The big picture
Habakkuk 1 opens in verse 1 with “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 9 with “They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they…”, and closes in verse 17 with “Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?” Repeated or prominent terms include judgment, LORD, violence, drag, gather. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Habakkuk · King James Version · 17Habakkuk 1:1-6
1–6: The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Habakkuk 1:1–6 opens with “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.” and reaches “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The prophet watching violence, injustice, strife, and paralyzed law in Judah while asking how long; Babylonian horsemen and nets illustrating the terrifying answer and the prophet’s new question about wicked instruments, with particular weight carried by judgment, raise, violence.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.” Naming Habakkuk keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Habakkuk 1:1-6
King James Version1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2O LORD , how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3Why 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.
4Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5Behold 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.
6For, 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 1:7-12
7–12: They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall…
Habakkuk 1:7–12 opens with “They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.” and reaches “Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD , thou…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The prophet watching violence, injustice, strife, and paralyzed law in Judah while asking how long; Babylonian horsemen and nets illustrating the terrifying answer and the prophet’s new question about wicked instruments, with particular weight carried by horsemen, judgment, LORD.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Habakkuk 1:7-12
King James Version7They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8Their 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.
9They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10And 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.
11Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
12Art 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.
Habakkuk 1:13-17
13–17: Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on…
Habakkuk 1:13–17 opens with “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest…” and reaches “Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The prophet watching violence, injustice, strife, and paralyzed law in Judah while asking how long; Babylonian horsemen and nets illustrating the terrifying answer and the prophet’s new question about wicked instruments, with particular weight carried by drag, angle, burn.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 3 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
Habakkuk 1:13-17
King James Version13Thou 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?
14And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15They 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.
16Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Habakkuk 1:1 begins with “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.”
Where the chapter turns
Habakkuk 1:11 forms a natural hinge: “Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.”
The final note
Habakkuk 1:17 leaves the reader with “Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?”
A word trail through the chapter
The words judgment, LORD, violence, drag, gather, horsemen help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
Who receives the image and the blessing?
Both male and female in verses 27-28. Human worth precedes achievement.
What limits human dominion?
The world belongs to its Creator and is already declared good. Compare the charge to tend and keep in 2:15.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.