Habakkuk 1:3 (ASV)

Passage

Why dost thou show me iniquity, and look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

Habakkuk 1:2 O Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save.

Habakkuk 1:3 Why dost thou show me iniquity, and look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.

Habakkuk 1:4 Therefore the law is slacked, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted.

Habakkuk 1:5 Behold ye among the nations, and look, and wonder marvellously; for I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dost", "thou", "show", "iniquity", "look", "upon", "perverseness", and "destruction". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dost" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "O Jehovah how long shall I cry..." into verse 4's "Therefore the law is slacked and justice...", so "dost" and "thou" belong inside that flow. In Habakkuk context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "dost" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.