Habakkuk 1:12 (GNV)

Passage

Art thou not of olde, O Lord my God, mine holy one? we shall not die: O Lord, thou hast ordeined them for iudgement, and O God, thou hast established them for correction.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:10 And they shall mocke the Kings, and the princes shalbe a skorne vnto them: they shall deride euery strong holde: for they shall gather dust, and take it.

Habakkuk 1:11 Then shall they take a courage, and transgresse and doe wickedly, imputing this their power vnto their god.

Habakkuk 1:12 Art thou not of olde, O Lord my God, mine holy one? we shall not die: O Lord, thou hast ordeined them for iudgement, and O God, thou hast established them for correction.

Habakkuk 1:13 Thou art of pure eyes, and canst not see euill: thou canst not behold wickednesse: wherefore doest thou looke vpon the transgressors, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked deuoureth the man, that is more righteous then he?

Habakkuk 1:14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, and as the creeping things, that haue no ruler ouer them.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Then shall they take a courage and..." into verse 13's "Thou art of pure eyes and canst...", so "thou" and "olde" 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 "thou" and "olde" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.