Habakkuk (KJV)

Old Testament3 chapters · Minor Prophets

The whole Book of Habakkuk in the King James Version — jump to Habakkuk 1, Habakkuk 2, or Habakkuk 3, then read what the book means and the questions people ask about it. Looking for a particular phrase? Search all three translations.

Habakkuk 1 — The Prophet's Complaint (KJV)

Habakkuk asks how long God will let violence and injustice go unanswered — and is told the Chaldeans (Babylonians) are coming, which only deepens the question.

1The 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. 7They 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. 13Thou 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?

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Habakkuk 2 — The Just Shall Live by His Faith (KJV)

God answers: write the vision, wait for it, and know that “the just shall live by his faith” (2:4). Five woes fall on the proud and the violent.

1I 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. 2And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3For 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. 4Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. 5Yea 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: 6Shall 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! 7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8Because 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. 9Woe 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! 10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13Behold, 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? 14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 15Woe 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! 16Thou 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. 17For 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. 18What 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? 19Woe 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. 20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

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Habakkuk 3 — The Prophet's Prayer (KJV)

Habakkuk's prayer and psalm: a vision of God coming in power, ending in the famous resolve to rejoice in the LORD though the fig tree does not blossom (3:17-19).

1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. 3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. 4And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. 5Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 6He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. 7I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 8Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? 9Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 10The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. 11The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. 12Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. 13Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 14Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. 15Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. 16When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. 17Although 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: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

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About the Book of Habakkuk

A prophet who argues with God. Habakkuk is unusual among the prophets. Instead of delivering warnings to the people, he brings the people’s questions to God. The book is a dialogue: Habakkuk complains, God answers, Habakkuk complains again, and God answers again — ending not in despair but in worship.

Author and date.The opening verse names “Habakkuk the prophet” (1:1); nothing else is known of his life. He is usually placed in the late 7th century BC, shortly before the Babylonian (Chaldean) armies overran Judah — the invasion the book says God is raising up (1:6).

The three chapters.Chapter 1 is Habakkuk’s complaint about violence and injustice, and God’s startling answer that the Chaldeans are coming. Chapter 2 is God’s fuller reply — “the just shall live by his faith” (2:4) — followed by five woes on the proud and cruel. Chapter 3 is Habakkuk’s prayer, a psalm that moves from awe at God’s power to the resolve to rejoice in the LORD whatever comes.

Key Themes in Habakkuk

Three threads run through the book. Each links to related verses gathered by subject.

The just shall live by his faith (2:4)

The single line at the heart of the book. Paul quotes it in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38 takes it up again — it became a cornerstone of the New Testament's teaching that a person is made right with God by faith, not by works.

More Bible verses about faith→

How long, O LORD? (1:2-4)

Habakkuk does not begin with praise but with protest — he sees violence and injustice everywhere and asks why God does nothing. The book models honest complaint that stays in conversation with God rather than turning away from him.

More Bible verses about justice→

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD (3:17-18)

The book ends where it did not begin: with joy. Though the fig tree does not blossom and the fields yield no food, Habakkuk chooses to rejoice in the God of his salvation and calls the LORD his strength. It is one of Scripture's clearest statements of trust that does not depend on circumstances.

More Bible verses about joy→

Study Bibles & devotionals

Go deeper than a single verse. These study Bibles and daily devotionals pair well with the topics here — adding context, commentary, and a rhythm for daily reading.

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Keep Exploring

Explore the scriptures by subject on the Topics index, or read on among the Minor Prophets.

Verses About Faith Verses About Trust in God All Topics Search the Bible

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main message of Habakkuk?

Habakkuk wrestles with why a just God allows evil and injustice to go unpunished. The prophet complains, God answers, and the book moves from protest to trust. Its central message is captured in 2:4 — “the just shall live by his faith” — and in the closing prayer, where Habakkuk resolves to rejoice in the LORD even when everything fails (3:17-18). The book teaches faith and trust in God's justice and timing when circumstances make no sense.

What does Habakkuk 3 mean?

Habakkuk 3 is the prophet's prayer, written as a psalm to be sung. Habakkuk recalls God's mighty acts in the past and pictures him coming in power to judge and to save his people. The chapter ends with its most famous lines (3:17-19): though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no food in the field or flock in the fold, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” It means trusting and rejoicing in God on the basis of who he is, not on the basis of good circumstances.

How many chapters are in the Book of Habakkuk?

The Book of Habakkuk has three chapters. Chapter 1 has 17 verses, chapter 2 has 20 verses, and chapter 3 has 19 verses — 56 verses in all. It is one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament.

Who was Habakkuk?

Habakkuk was an Old Testament prophet, named in the opening verse as “Habakkuk the prophet” (1:1). Little is known about his life. He is usually dated to the late 7th century BC, shortly before the Babylonian (Chaldean) invasion of Judah that the book warns is coming. His name appears only in this book, one of the twelve Minor Prophets.