Charles Ellicott Commentary Habakkuk 1:4

"Therefore the law is slacked, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted." — Habakkuk 1:4 (ASV)

The law—the Mosaic tôrâh—which ought to be a bond of security and social welfare is “slacked” or “paralyzed”; and is, therefore, unable to do its work. “Judgment” (mishpât, i.e., “redress of evils”) “doth never go forth,” for the wicked have hemmed the righteous in; and, therefore, there are no judicial sentences, except those that favour the wicked.