Habakkuk 1:2 (DRB)

Passage

How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? shall I cry out to thee suffering violence, and thou wilt not save?

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:1 The burden that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

Habakkuk 1:2 How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? shall I cry out to thee suffering violence, and thou wilt not save?

Habakkuk 1:3 Why hast thou shewn me iniquity and grievance, to see rapine and injustice before me? and there is a judgment, but opposition is more powerful.

Habakkuk 1:4 Therefore the law is torn in pieces, and judgment cometh not to the end: because the wicked prevaileth against the just, therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "long", "lord", "shall", "thou", "wilt", "hear", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "long" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "The burden that Habakkuk the prophet saw..." into verse 3's "Why hast thou shewn me iniquity and...", so "long" and "lord" 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 "long" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.