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Book 35 of 66 · Old Testament

Habakkuk

A prophet argues with God about why He lets the wicked prosper — and learns to trust without an answer.

3 chapters56 versesWritten in HebrewSet Judah, on the eve of the Babylonian conquest (c. 600 BC)

Overview

Habakkuk is a short book unlike the other prophets: instead of speaking to the people, the prophet argues with God. He asks why God tolerates violence and injustice, and why He would use the brutal Babylonians to punish Judah. God answers, and Habakkuk ends not with a solution but with a decision to trust God even when everything fails.

Book facts

Author
HabakkukNamed in the first verse as "Habakkuk the prophet." Nothing else is known of him.
Date written
c. 600 BCShortly before Babylon's conquest of Judah.
Original language
HebrewHebrew prophecy and poetry; chapter 3 is a psalm set to music.
Setting
Judah, on the eve of the Babylonian conquest (c. 600 BC)As the Babylonians rise to threaten Judah.

How it came to be

Habakkuk is named in the opening verse as the book's prophet. Nothing else is known of him; the book is his dialogue with God, set as Babylon rose to threaten Judah.

It ends with a psalm marked for music, suggesting it was used in worship.

What is arguedLittle is disputed about the author, but the date and the identity of the "Chaldeans" have been debated. Most place it just before the fall of Jerusalem.

The whole book, chapter by chapter

ChapterWhat happensWho is in itWhere it takes place
The prophet and God — the questions and the answers, chapters 1–2
Chapter 1The prophet's complaintHabakkuk asks why God does nothing about violence; God replies that He is raising the Babylonians — which troubles the prophet even more.—
Chapter 2The watchtowerHabakkuk waits for God's answer: the proud will fall, "the just shall live by his faith," and five woes are pronounced on the oppressor.—
The prayer — Habakkuk's closing psalm, chapter 3
Chapter 3The prophet's prayerHabakkuk prays, recalling God's power, and resolves to rejoice in God even if the crops fail and the flocks die.—

All 3 chapters. Start reading →

Worth knowing

Key people

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Key places

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Known for

The book's best-known lines — tap the verse to read it.