Habakuk 2:15

2:15 “You who force your neighbor to drink wine ¹  are as good as dead ²  –

you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, ³ 

so you can look at their genitals. ⁴ 

Habakuk 3:17

3:17 When ⁵  the fig tree does not bud,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

when the olive trees do not produce, ⁶ 

and the fields yield no crops; ⁷ 

when the sheep disappear ⁸  from the pen,

and there are no cattle in the stalls,

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 

Habakuk 2:11

2:11 For the stones in the walls will cry out,

and the wooden rafters will answer back. ¹³ 

Habakuk 1:16

1:16 Because of his success ¹⁴  he offers sacrifices to his throw net

and burns incense to his dragnet; ¹⁵ 

for because of them he has plenty of food, ¹⁶ 

and more than enough to eat. ¹⁷ 

Habakuk 1:3

1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? ¹⁸ 

Why do you put up with wrongdoing? ¹⁹ 

Destruction and violence confront ²⁰  me;

conflict is present and one must endure strife. ²¹ 

Habakuk 2:1

2:1 I will stand at my watch post;

I will remain stationed on the city wall. ²² 

I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me

and can know ²³  how I should answer

when he counters my argument. ²⁴ 

Habakuk 2:13

2:13 Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed:

The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke;

their exhausting work will be for nothing. ²⁵ 

Habakuk 3:8

3:8 Is the Lord mad at the rivers?

Are you angry with the rivers?

Are you enraged at the sea? ²⁶ 

Is this why ²⁷  you climb into your horse-drawn chariots, ²⁸ 

your victorious chariots? ²⁹ 

[2:15]  ¹ tn No direct object is present after “drink” in the Hebrew text. “Wine” is implied, however, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ² tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:15]  ³ tc Heb “pouring out your anger and also making drunk”; or “pouring out your anger and [by] rage making drunk.” The present translation assumes that the final khet (ח) on מְסַפֵּחַ (misapeakh, “pouring”) is dittographic and that the form should actually be read מִסַּף (missaf, “from a bowl”).

[2:15]  sn Forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger. The Babylonian’s harsh treatment of others is compared to intoxicating wine which the Babylonians force the nations to drink so they can humiliate them. Cf. the imagery in Rev 14:10.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “their nakedness,” a euphemism.

[2:15]  sn Metaphor and reality are probably blended here. This may refer to the practice of publicly humiliating prisoners of war by stripping them naked. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 124.

[3:17]  ⁵ tn Or “though.”

[3:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “the produce of the olive disappoints.”

[3:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “food.”

[3:17]  ⁸ tn Or “are cut off.”

[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.”

[2:11]  ¹³ sn The house mentioned in vv. 9-10 represents the Babylonian empire, which became great through imperialism. Here the materials of this “house” (the stones in the walls, the wooden rafters) are personified as witnesses who testify that the occupants have built the house through wealth stolen from others.

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “therefore.”

[1:16]  ¹⁵ sn The fishing implements (throw net and dragnet) represent Babylonian military might. The prophet depicts the Babylonians as arrogantly worshiping their own power (sacrifices…burns incense, see also v. 11b).

[1:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for by them his portion is full [or, “fat”].”

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and his food is plentiful [or, “fat”].”

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?”

[1:3]  sn Habakkuk complains that God tolerates social injustice and fails to intervene on behalf of the oppressed (put up with wrongdoing).

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “are before.”

[1:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “and there is conflict and strife he lifts up.” The present translation takes the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) in the sense of “carry, bear,” and understands the subject to be indefinite (“one”).

[2:1]  ²² sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.

[2:1]  ²³ tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”

[2:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Is it not, look, from the Lord of hosts that the nations work hard for fire, and the peoples are exhausted for nothing?”

[3:8]  ²⁶ sn The following context suggests these questions should be answered, “Yes.” The rivers and the sea, symbolizing here the hostile nations (v. 12), are objects of the Lord’s anger (vv. 10, 15).

[3:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “so that.” Here כִּי (ki) is resultative. See the note on the phrase “make it” in 2:18.

[3:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “you mount your horses.” As the next line makes clear, the Lord is pictured here as a charioteer, not a cavalryman. Note NRSV here, “when you drove your horses, // your chariots to victory.”

[3:8]  ²⁹ tn Or “chariots of deliverance.”