Habakkuk 1:5 (GNV)

Passage

Beholde among the heathen, and regarde, and wonder, and maruaile: for I will worke a worke in your dayes: yee will not beleeue it, though it be tolde you.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:3 Why doest thou shewe mee iniquitie, and cause me to beholde sorowe? for spoyling, and violence are before me: and there are that rayse vp strife and contention.

Habakkuk 1:4 Therefore the Lawe is dissolued, and iudgement doeth neuer go forth: for the wicked doeth compasse about the righteous: therefore wrong iudgement proceedeth.

Habakkuk 1:5 Beholde among the heathen, and regarde, and wonder, and maruaile: for I will worke a worke in your dayes: yee will not beleeue it, though it be tolde you.

Habakkuk 1:6 For lo, I raise vp the Caldeans, that bitter and furious nation, which shall goe vpon the breadth of the lande to possesse the dwelling places, that are not theirs.

Habakkuk 1:7 They are terrible and fearefull: their iudgement and their dignitie shall proceede of theselues.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beholde", "heathen", "regarde", "wonder", "maruaile", "worke", and "dayes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beholde" and "heathen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Therefore the Lawe is dissolued and iudgement..." into verse 6's "For lo I raise vp the Caldeans...", so "beholde" and "heathen" 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 "beholde" and "heathen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.