They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty.
Parallel translations
- WEB They are feared and dreaded. Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
- KJV They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
- NKJV They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
- NASB “They are terrifying and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
- NLT They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Babylonians are described as terrifying and dreaded, recognizing no authority but their own. It pictures a proud empire that makes itself the measure of justice and dignity.
Overview
This nation acknowledges no higher law, deriving its own standards of judgment and honor from itself rather than from God. Such self-exaltation is the essence of pride that Scripture consistently opposes. Ironically, the very autonomy that makes them fearsome instruments of God's judgment also marks them for eventual downfall, for those who set themselves up as god will answer to the true God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 39:5–9But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
- Jer 52:9–11The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on Zedekiah.
- Jer 52:25–27Of those still in the city, he took a court official who had been appointed over the men of war, as well as seven trusted royal advisers. He also took the scribe of the captain of the army, who had enlisted the people of the land, and sixty men who were found in the city.
- Deut 5:19You shall not steal.
- Deut 5:27Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”
- Isa 18:7At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of Hosts—from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people widely feared, from a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers—to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD of Hosts.
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Christ at the center
'The righteous shall live by his faith' (2:4) becomes a cornerstone of the gospel in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews — the faith that lays hold of Christ.
How Habakkuk 1:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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