Habakkuk 1:2

How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Habakkuk addresses Yahweh directly at the opening of a prophetic vision, posing his initial lament before detailing the specific injustices he witnesses.

The words — The Hebrew terms אָ֧נָה ('A.nah) and עַד־ ('ad-) literally translate to "when?" and "until," framing the prophet’s question as a demand for a timeline on divine inaction.

The thread — The text’s declaration of unanswered cries parallels the complaint in Psalms 13:1 about God hiding His face and the assertion in Lamentations 3:8 that God shuts out prayer.

Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader acknowledge the factual reality of unmet petitions without offering premature theological explanations, requiring honest endurance amid perceived divine silence.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

עַד־'ad-until אָ֧נָה'A.nahwhen?יְהוָ֛הYah.wehO Yahweh שִׁוַּ֖עְתִּיshi.Va'.tihave I cried for help וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not תִשְׁמָ֑עtish.Ma'you will hear אֶזְעַ֥ק'ez.'AkI cry out אֵלֶ֛יךָ'e.Lei./khato/ you חָמָ֖סcha.Masviolence וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not תוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃to.Shi.a'you save

King James Version

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

Cross-references

Psalms 22:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
Psalms 13:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
Lamentations 3:8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
Jeremiah 14:9 Why are You like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? Yet You are among us, O LORD, and we are called by Your name. Do not forsake us!
Psalms 94:3 How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked exult?
Revelation 6:10 And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”
Psalms 74:9 There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.