Why do you make me see iniquity,
Habakkuk 1:3
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
Habakkuk remarks about the terrible things he sees all around him. One common poetic device in Hebrew is to have lines repeat or parallel one another for emphasis. In this verse, we see two pairs of similar ideas. This week we will look at the first couplet, followed by the second next week.
Iniquity
The word “iniquity” (אָוֶן, aven) describes a wide range of evils. “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity (aven)” (Proverbs 22:8). “Woe to those who devise wickedness (aven)” (Micah 2:1)
This word is used in the phrase po’alei aven (literally “doers/workers of aven“), often translated as evildoers. “The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless, / but destruction to evildoers” (Proverbs 10:29). The Psalms use this phrase a number of times, like Psalm 5:5, 14:4, 36:12, and 125:5.
“Depart from me, all you workers of evil (po’alei aven) / for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping” (Psalm 6:8). Jesus quotes part of this verse on a few occasions. In the Sermon on the Mount, he says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'” (Matthew 7:22-23). Lawless (Greek anomia, without the law) is a common way aven is translated into Greek, like here. It describes those who don’t obey God’s laws. Jesus also uses this phrase in Matthew 25:41 and Luke 13:27.
Aven can also describe the result of wrongdoing (translated trouble or misfortune): “For they drop trouble (aven) upon me” (Psalm 55:3). When Rachel was dying while giving birth, she named her son Ben-Oni (vowel shifting obscures it in English, but it literally means “son of my affliction/trouble”; Genesis 35:18).
Aven also appears in the name “Beth Aven” (House of Trouble/Inquitity/etc). It first describes a place east of Bethel (Joshua 7:2, 1 Samuel 13:5). Later, the prophet Hosea uses it as a derogatory name for Bethel (which means House of God) because of the golden calf that King Jeroboam installed there that the people worshipped (Hosea 4:15, 5:8, 10:5).
Amos seems to hint at Beth Aven when he says, “Bethel shall come to nothing (aven)” (Amos 5:5). Why do they translate it as “nothing”? Why not “trouble” or the like? How often do we think something is important, even if it isn’t right, but it only leads to emptiness later?
Wrong
The word “wrong” (עָמָל, amal) is also translated “toil”, “trouble”, or “mischief”. It is most commonly found in Ecclesiastes, along with its verb form. For instance: “What does man gain by all the toil (noun, amal) / at which he toils (verb, amal) under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3) In the context of this book, it describes a laborious task.
Moses said that God “saw our affliction, our toil (amal), and our oppression” (Deuteronomy 26:7). During the period of the judges, when the people were oppressed and turned to God, “he became impatient over the misery (amal) of Israel” (Judges 10:16). Habakkuk will later say that God “cannot look at wrong (amal)” (Habakkuk 1:13). God does not stand this state and will act to change it.
One Thing Leads to Another
When Balaam blesses Israel, he says, “He [God] has not beheld misfortune (aven) in Jacob, / nor has he seen trouble (amal) in Israel” (Numbers 23:21). The irony is that God’s divine calling for Israel was for them to not have aven or amal. The people have lost their way.
Amal and aven are paired together elsewhere, too. The Psalmist says life is “toil (amal) and trouble (aven)” (Psalm 90:10). One leads to another. “[T]hey conceive mischief (amal) and give birth to iniquity (aven)” (Isaiah 59:4). “Behold, the wicked man conceives evil (aven) / and is pregnant with mischief (amal) / and gives birth to lies” (Psalm 7:14). Other pairings are found in Psalm 10:7, 55:10, Job 4:8, 5:6-7, 15:35, and Isaiah 10:1.
To Ponder…
Have you ever found yourself in trouble that you caused? Have you ever worked really hard for something that in the end felt pointless or led to trouble?
Imagine entering a city and reading its welcome sign with the tagline “Home to Trouble”. Would you want to visit or live in a city like that? How does a town get that kind of reputation? What can be done to fix it?