Habakuk 1:1-2

Habakkuk Complains to the Lord

1:1 The following is the message ¹  which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: ² 

1:2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help?

But you do not listen!

I call out to you, “Violence!”

But you do not intervene! ³ 

¹ tn Heb “The burden” (so KJV, ASV). The Hebrew term מַשָּׂא (masa’), usually translated “oracle” (NAB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. III מַשָּׂא), in prophetic literature is a technical term introducing a message from the Lord (see Zech 9:1; 12:1; Mal 1:1). Since it derives from a verb meaning “to carry,” its original nuance was that of a burdensome message, that is, one with ominous content.

² tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] which Habakkuk the prophet saw.”

³ tn Or “deliver.”