Habakuk 1:6

1:6 Look, I am about to empower ¹  the Babylonians,

that ruthless ²  and greedy ³  nation.

They sweep across the surface ⁴  of the earth,

seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

Habakuk 3:14

3:14 You pierce the heads of his warriors ⁵  with a spear. ⁶ 

They storm forward to scatter us; ⁷ 

they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. ⁸ 

Habakuk 3:19

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ⁹ 

He gives me the agility of a deer; ¹⁰ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ¹¹ 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ¹² 

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the open spaces.”

[3:14]  ⁵ tn Some take “warriors” with the following line, in which case one should translate, “you pierce [his] head with a spear; his warriors storm forward to scatter us” (cf. NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew term פְּרָזוֹ (pÿrazo), translated here “his warriors,” is uncertain.

[3:14]  ⁶ tc Heb “his shafts.” Some emend to “your shafts.” The translation above assumes an emendation to מַטֶּה (matteh, “shaft, spear”), the vav-yod (ו-י) sequence being a corruption of an original he (ה).

[3:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “me,” but the author speaks as a representative of God’s people.

[3:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “their rejoicing is like devouring the poor in secret.”

[3:19]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

[3:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he makes me walk on my high places.”

[3:19]  sn Difficult times are coming, but Habakkuk is confident the Lord will sustain him. Habakkuk will be able to survive, just as the deer negotiates the difficult rugged terrain of the high places without injury.

[3:19]  ¹² tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”