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Habakkuk.

Why does the LORD use the wicked Babylonians to punish Judah? The prophet wrestles and ends in worship.

Testament

Old Testament

Section

Minor Prophets

Chapters

3

Date

Late 7th c. BC, just before the Babylonian invasion.

Who wrote Habakkuk?

Habakkuk.

Who was it written for?

Judah, struggling with the question of theodicy.

Structure

  • Two complaints and two answers (1–2)
  • A psalm of trust (3)

Key verses

Why Habakkuk matters

Habakkuk is the prophet who argues with God. "How long, O LORD?" he asks; God answers; he asks a harder question; God answers again. The book ends with one of the Bible's great expressions of faith in the absence of evidence: "Though the fig tree should not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the LORD." Paul quotes 2:4 ("the righteous shall live by his faith") three times in his epistles.

Related tools

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Kerygma's trivia rounds cover Habakkuk in the Minor Prophets stream — once you've sat with the overview, the questions go deeper into the text. Free for seven days.

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