Read & explore together
The LORD’s Answer
In Habakkuk 1:5–11, the LORD answers with a warning meant to shock. He says he is doing something astonishing, then describes the Chaldeans as a powerful and violent nation he is raising up.
Understanding the passage
The setting of this message
This passage is presented as the LORD’s answer. It opens with a call to look, watch and wonder, then explains what the LORD is doing. The answer focuses on the Chaldeans, describing their reach, speed, violence, pride and guilt in a series of vivid prophetic lines.
Habakkuk 1:5–11Main takeaway
The LORD’s answer shows that he speaks truthfully about violent human power and declares its guilt.
Explore the message
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Look, watch, and be astonishedThe answer begins with strong commands: “Look”, “watch”, and “wonder marvelously”. The LORD says he is working “in your days”, so this message concerns the hearers directly.
Explanation
The answer begins with strong commands: “Look”, “watch”, and “wonder marvelously”. The LORD says he is working “in your days”, so this message concerns the hearers directly. He also says the work would be hard to believe even if told, showing that his answer will be surprising and unsettling.
02The LORD raises up the ChaldeansThe LORD plainly says, “I am raising up the Chaldeans”. They are called “bitter and hasty”, and their actions are aggressive.
Explanation
The LORD plainly says, “I am raising up the Chaldeans”. They are called “bitter and hasty”, and their actions are aggressive. They move widely “through the width of the earth” and seize “dwelling places that are not theirs”. The passage presents them as a people the LORD is bringing forward.
03A feared nation driven by its own authorityThe Chaldeans are “feared and dreaded”. Their “judgment” and “dignity” proceed “from themselves”, which points to self-derived authority.
Explanation
The Chaldeans are “feared and dreaded”. Their “judgment” and “dignity” proceed “from themselves”, which points to self-derived authority. The next images stress speed and force: horses swifter than leopards, fiercer than evening wolves, and horsemen like an eagle hurrying to devour.
04Violence, conquest, and guiltThe passage states their purpose directly: “All of them come for violence.” They gather prisoners “like sand”, mock kings and princes, and capture strongholds by building an earthen ramp.
Explanation
The passage states their purpose directly: “All of them come for violence.” They gather prisoners “like sand”, mock kings and princes, and capture strongholds by building an earthen ramp. The closing judgement is clear: “They are indeed guilty”, because, in the verse’s own wording, “their strength is their god.”
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What makes the LORD’s answer something hard to believe?
Notice the words about watching and wondering, and the statement that this work would not be believed even if it were told.
02How does the passage describe the Chaldeans’ power and movement?
List the phrases about where they go, how fast they are, and what comparisons are used for their horses and horsemen.
03What final judgement does the passage make about the Chaldeans?
After all the descriptions of conquest, look at the closing line to see why they are called guilty.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Habakkuk 1:5–11
5“Look among the nations, watch, and wonder marvelously; for I am working a work in your days which you will not believe though it is told you.
6For, behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who march through the width of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7They are feared and dreaded. Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour.
9All of them come for violence. Their hordes face forward. They gather prisoners like sand.
10Yes, they scoff at kings, and princes are a derision to them. They laugh at every stronghold, for they build up an earthen ramp and take it.
11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on. They are indeed guilty, whose strength is their god.”