Online Bible

2 ^aHow long, O LORD, will I call for help,And You will not hear?I cry out to You, “Violence!”Yet You do ^bnot save.3 Why do You make me ^asee iniquity,And cause me to look on wickedness?Yes, ^bdestruction and violence are before me;^cStrife exists and contention arises.4 Therefore the ^alaw is ¹ignoredAnd justice ²is never upheld.For the wicked ^bsurround the righteous;Therefore justice comes out ^cperverted.

5 “^aLook among the nations! Observe!Be astonished! ^bWonder!Because I am doing ^csomething in your days—You would not believe if ¹you were told.6 “For behold, I am ^araising up the Chaldeans,That ¹fierce and impetuous peopleWho march ²throughout the earthTo ³^bseize dwelling places which are not theirs.7 “They are dreaded and ^afeared;Their ^bjustice and ¹authority ²originate with themselves.8 “Their ^ahorses are swifter than leopardsAnd ¹keener than ^bwolves in the evening.Their ²horsemen come galloping,Their horsemen come from afar;They fly like an ^ceagle swooping down to devour.9 “All of them come for violence.¹Their horde of ^afaces moves forward.They collect captives like sand.10 “They ^amock at kingsAnd rulers are a laughing matter to them.They ^blaugh at every fortressAnd ^cheap up rubble to capture it.11 “Then they will sweep through like the ^awind and pass on.But they will be held ^bguilty,They whose ^cstrength is their god.”

12 Are You not from ^aeverlasting,O LORD, my God, my Holy One?We will not die.You, O LORD, have ^bappointed them to judge;And You, O ^cRock, have established them to correct.13 Your eyes are too ^apure to ¹approve evil,And You can not look on wickedness with favor.Why do You ^blook with favorOn those who deal ^ctreacherously?Why are You ^dsilent when the wicked ^eswallow upThose more righteous than they?14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,Like creeping things without a ruler over them?15 The Chaldeans ^abring all of them up with a hook,^bDrag them away with their net,And gather them together in their fishing net.Therefore they rejoice and are glad.16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their netAnd ¹burn incense to their fishing net;Because through ^athese things their ²catch is ³large,And their food is ⁴plentiful.17 Will they therefore empty their ^anetAnd continually ^bslay nations without sparing?