Habakkuk 1:5 (YLT)

Passage

Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:3 Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence <FI>are<Fi> before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift <FI>itself<Fi> up,

Habakkuk 1:4 Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.

Habakkuk 1:5 Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.

Habakkuk 1:6 For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own.

Habakkuk 1:7 Terrible and fearful it <FI>is<Fi> , From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "look", "nations", "behold", "marvel", "greatly", "working", "days", and "believe". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "look" and "nations", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Therefore doth law cease And judgment doth..." into verse 6's "For lo I am raising up the...", so "look" and "nations" 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 "look" and "nations" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.