He says destruction and violence are before him, with strife and contention rising. He also states that the law is paralyzed and justice does not go forth because the wicked surround the righteous. This complaint appears in Habakkuk 1:3–4.
In Habakkuk 1:2–4 the prophet protests that he has been crying to Yahweh for help, especially about “violence,” but nothing seems to change. He describes a public life filled with wrongdoing, destruction, conflict, and escalating disputes. Because of this, the law no longer functions as it should, and justice does not come out in a straight way. These verses open the book’s first complaint, voiced directly to Yahweh as a personal lament. The passage sets the basic problem that drives the dialogue: the prophet sees ongoing disorder inside his own society and cannot reconcile it with Yahweh’s role as one who hears and acts.
Habakkuk 1:2–4 presents a prophet speaking directly to Yahweh with a protest. The text’s explicit claims are that Habakkuk has been crying out for a long time, specifically about “Violence!” (violence), and he experiences no rescue (verse 2). He says he is forced to keep seeing wrongdoing and destructive social conflict (verse 3).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Habakkuk 1:3-4, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
3Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up.
4Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.