Habakkuk 1:4

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

Cross-reference

In Habakkuk 1:13, the prophet continues his complaint: God allows the wicked to swallow the righteous, deepening the injustice theme from verse 4.

Jeremiah 38:4-6 has officials throw Jeremiah into a cistern—a concrete fulfillment of the wicked hemming in the righteous and perverting justice.

Ezekiel 9:9 Parallel

Ezekiel 9:9 laments great iniquity, bloodshed, and perversity in the land — a similar prophetic cry over justice abandoned.

Exodus 23:2 Contrast

Exodus 23:2 commands not to pervert justice by following the crowd — the opposite of the lawlessness described here.

Ezekiel 22:25-30 lists prophets, priests, and rulers oppressing the poor and perverting justice—directly echoing Habakkuk's 'law is paralyzed'.

Hosea 10:4 Parallel

Hosea 10:4 says judgment springs up like poisonous weeds—a parallel to Habakkuk's complaint of perverted justice.

Amos 5:7 Parallel

Amos 5:7 accuses Israel of turning justice into wormwood—identical theme of justice being corrupted, reinforcing Habakkuk's lament.

Amos 5:12 Parallel

Amos 5:12 lists afflicting the righteous, taking bribes, and turning aside the needy—specific sins that cause the paralysis of justice Habakkuk describes.

Micah 2:2 Parallel

Micah 2:2 describes the same covetous oppression and seizure of property that perverts justice, echoing Habakkuk's lament.

Micah 3:1-3 condemns leaders who hate good and tear the people apart, directly illustrating the perverted justice Habakkuk mourns.

Micah 7:2-4 depicts a world with no upright person and everyone hunting others, matching Habakkuk's picture of lawlessness and injustice.

Matthew 23:34-36 shows Jesus holding the generation accountable for persecuting the righteous, a concrete instance of the injustice Habakkuk decries.

Matthew 26:59-66 records the Sanhedrin seeking false witnesses against Jesus, a vivid example of the wicked surrounding the righteous to pervert justice.

Matthew 27:1 shows the chief priests and elders conspiring to put Jesus to death, fulfilling the pattern of injustice that Habakkuk laments.

Matthew 27:2 continues the injustice as Jesus is bound and handed over to Pilate, mirroring the perversion of justice in Habakkuk 1:4.

Matthew 27:25 records the crowd calling for Jesus' blood, a stark example of the wicked condemning the innocent that Habakkuk describes.

Matthew 27:26 shows Pilate releasing Barabbas and scourging Jesus, embodying the perverted justice where the guilty go free and the righteous suffer.

Acts 7:52 Parallel

Acts 7:52 accuses Israel of persecuting and killing the prophets, including the Righteous One—a direct fulfillment of the pattern Habakkuk laments.

Romans 3:31 Contrast

Romans 3:31 directly counters the idea that the law is made void — Paul insists faith establishes, not nullifies, the law.

James 2:6 Parallel

James 2:6 describes rich oppressing the poor and dragging them to court — the very perversion of justice Habakkuk decries.

Psalm 94:20 Parallel

Psalm 94:20 questions a throne that devises mischief by statute, paralleling Habakkuk's law that is slacked.

Exodus 23:6 Contrast

Exodus 23:6 forbids perverting justice for the poor — directly contradicting the reality of perverted justice here.

Deuteronomy 16:19 prohibits perverting justice and taking bribes — the ideal that Habakkuk shows is broken.

1 Kings 21:13 shows exactly this — the wicked compass about the righteous and pervert justice, as Naboth is condemned by false witnesses.

Psalm 11:3 Parallel

Psalm 11:3 echoes this same despair when society's moral foundations collapse — the righteous are left powerless.

Psalm 58:1 Parallel

Psalm 58:1 questions whether the rulers judge uprightly — directly related to Habakkuk's complaint that justice never prevails.

Psalm 58:2 Parallel

Psalm 58:2 describes the inward corruption of those who pervert justice — the same 'wrong judgment' Habakkuk laments.

Psalm 82:1-5 directly addresses unjust judges who pervert judgment, mirroring Habakkuk's cry that justice never goes forth.

Psalm 94:3 Parallel

Psalm 94:3 asks 'how long shall the wicked triumph?'—the same question behind Habakkuk's complaint about the wicked surrounding the righteous.

Jeremiah 37:14-16 describes Jeremiah beaten and imprisoned—another case of the wicked silencing the righteous, mirroring Habakkuk's complaint.

Psalm 94:21 Parallel

Psalm 94:21 describes the wicked banding together to condemn the innocent, directly matching 'the wicked compass about the righteous'.

In Psalm 119:126, the psalmist similarly cries that God's law has been made void, calling for divine intervention.

Isaiah 1:21-23 laments that the city once full of justice is now full of murderers and bribes—exactly the perversion Habakkuk decries.

Isaiah 59:2–8 Related theme

Isaiah 59:2-8 details how sin leads to lack of justice and innocent bloodshed, echoing Habakkuk's description of law being slacked.

Isaiah 59:13-15 says justice is turned back and righteousness stands far off—a direct parallel to 'judgment never goes forth'.

Jeremiah 5:27-29 condemns the wicked who grow rich by deceit and fail to defend the orphan—mirroring Habakkuk's righteous oppressed.

Jeremiah 12:1 asks why the wicked prosper and the treacherous are happy—the very question underlying Habakkuk's complaint.

Jeremiah 26:21-23 recounts King Jehoiakim killing the prophet Uriah—a vivid example of justice perverted and the righteous oppressed.

Amos 6:12 Parallel

Amos 6:12 uses the image of turning justice into poison and righteousness into bitterness, reinforcing Habakkuk's lament that justice has been corrupted.

Isaiah 59:14 echoes the same complaint: justice is driven back, truth stumbles, and equity cannot enter—matching Habakkuk's depiction of law slacked and justice perverted.

Deuteronomy 25:1 instructs judges to justify the righteous and condemn the wicked — the opposite of what Habakkuk reports.

Acts 7:59 Parallel

Acts 7:59 shows Stephen, a righteous man, stoned by the wicked — a concrete example of the oppression Habakkuk laments.

Acts 23:12-14 depicts a conspiracy to kill Paul — wicked plotting against the righteous, mirroring the 'hemming in' here.

Micah 2:1 Parallel

Micah 2:1 condemns those who devise wickedness and have power to carry it out—parallel to the wicked hemming in the righteous, though less focused on legal perversion.