Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
| Word | Hebrew | Strong’s | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| law | תּוֹרָ֔ה to.Rah | H8451 | a precept or statute · noun, common feminine singular absolute |
| slacked | תָּפ֣וּג ta.Fug | H6313 | to be sluggish · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular |
| judgment | מִשְׁפָּ֑ט mish.Pat | H4941 | properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute |
| never | לָנֶ֖צַח la.Ne.tzach | H5331 | properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute |
| forth | יֵצֵ֥א ye.Tze' | H3318 | to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular |
| wicked | רָשָׁע֙ ra.Sha' | H7563 | morally wrong · noun, common masculine singular absolute |
| compass | מַכְתִּ֣יר makh.Tir | H3803 | to enclose · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute |
| righteous | הַצַּדִּ֔יק ha.tza.Dik | H6662 | just · definite article + adjective, masculine singular absolute |
| wrong | מְעֻקָּֽל me.'u.Kal | H6127 | to wrest · verb, pual passive participle, masculine singular absolute |
| judgment | מִשְׁפָּ֖ט mish.Pat | H4941 | properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute |
| proceedeth | יֵצֵ֥א ye.Tze' | H3318 | to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular |
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Therefore--because Thou dost suffer such crimes to go unpunished. law is slacked--is chilled. It has no authority and secures no respect. judgment--justice. wrong judgment proceedeth--Decisions are given contrary to right.
The law is slacked - They pay no attention to it; it has lost all its vigor, its restraining and correcting power, it is not executed; right judgment is never pronounced; and the poor righteous man complains in vain that he is grievously oppressed by the wicked, and by those in power and authority. That the utmost depravity prevailed in the land of Judah is evident from these verses; and can we wonder, then, that God poured out such signal judgments upon them? When judgment doth not proceed from the seat of judgment upon earth, it will infallibly go forth from the throne of judgment in heaven.
Therefore the law is slacked,.... Is not put into execution against offenders: the civil magistrates, whose office it is to do justice according to law, are dilatory, and do not proceed with vigour and spirit against the transgressors of it, and in favour of honest and good men oppressed: or "it intermits" (r), or is "intermitted"; it is like a man whose pulse beats low, and is scarce perceived, which is a sign that he is not in good health as the body politic is not, when the law, which is the soul of it, is not suffered to take place, and do its office. So the Targum, "the law languishes;'' loses its force and vigour, and is ready to expire; which is a sad symptom of the bad estate of a…
Read the whole note in the consoleHabakkuk 1:4 4. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgement doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgement proceedeth. 4. Propterea dissolvitur (vel, debilitatur) lex, et non egredietur perpetuo judicium (vel, non egreditur:) quia impius circumdat justum, propterea impius circumdat justum, propterea egredietur judicium perversum. The Prophet confirms here what I have already said, and brings an excuse for his zeal; he proves that he was not without reason led to so great a warmth; for he saw that the law of God was trodden as it were under foot; he saw men so hardened in every kind of sin, that all religion and the fear of God had nearly be…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The prophet's lamentation. Hab 1:2. "How long, Jehovah, have I cried, and Thou hearest not? I cry to Thee, Violence; and Thou helpest not! Hab 1:3. Why dost Thou let me see mischief, and Thou lookest upon distress? devastation and violence are before me: there arises strife, and contention lifts itself up. Hab 1:4. Therefore the law is benumbed, and justice comes not forth for ever: for sinners encircle the righteous man; therefore justice goes forth perverted." This complaint, which involves a petition for help, is not merely an expression of the prophet's personal desire for the removal of the prevailing unrighteousness; but the prophet laments, in the name of the righteous, i.e., the beli…
Read the whole note in the consoleHabakkuk expresses his concern about the injustice and unrighteousness he saw all around him (see 1:12-13; 2:4, 9), even in the courts, where the law was no longer effective in maintaining justice.
Therefore Torah is slackened Because of this, that Israel sees his [the wicked man’s] success, the Torah will slacken and leave them; and they [Israel] will obey him [the wicked man] and prostrate themselves before the idol in the valley of Dura. and justice does not go out forever I.e., the true decision of the Law. surrounds surrounds, as in (Ps. 22:13): “Strong bulls of Bashan have surrounded me (כִּתְּרוּנִי).”
Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).
