Habakuk 2:9

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹ 

He does this so he can build his nest way up high

and escape the clutches of disaster. ² 

Habakuk 3:3

3:3 God comes ³  from Teman, ⁴ 

the sovereign ⁵  one from Mount Paran. ⁶  Selah. ⁷ 

His splendor covers the skies, ⁸ 

his glory ⁹  fills the earth.

Habakuk 3:19

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹⁰ 

He gives me the agility of a deer; ¹¹ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ¹² 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ¹³ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”

[2:9]  sn Here the Babylonians are compared to a bird, perhaps an eagle, that builds its nest in an inaccessible high place where predators cannot reach it.

[3:3]  ³ tn In vv. 3-15 there is a mixture of eleven prefixed verbal forms (without vav [ו] consecutive or with vav conjunctive), sixteen suffixed forms, and three prefixed forms with vav consecutive. All of the forms are best taken as indicating completed action from the speaker’s standpoint (all of the prefixed forms being regarded as preterites). The forms could be translated with the past tense, but this would be misleading, for this is not a mere recital of God’s deeds in Israel’s past history. Habakkuk here describes, in terms reminiscent of past theophanies, his prophetic vision of a future theophany (see v. 7, “I saw”). From the prophet’s visionary standpoint the theophany is “as good as done.” This translation uses the English present tense throughout these verses to avoid misunderstanding. A similar strategy is followed by the NEB; in contrast note the NIV and NRSV, which consistently use past tenses throughout the section, and the NASB, which employs present tenses in vv. 3-5 and mostly past tenses in vv. 6-15.

[3:3]  ⁴ sn Teman was a city or region in southern Edom.

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Or traditionally, “holy one.” The term קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy [one]”) here refers to God’s sovereignty. See v. 3b.

[3:3]  ⁶ sn The precise location of Mount Paran is unknown, but like Teman it was located to the southeast of Israel. Habakkuk saw God marching from the direction of Sinai.

[3:3]  ⁷ tn Selah. The meaning of this musical term (which also appears in vv. 9, 13, and in the Psalms as well) is unknown.

[3:3]  ⁸ tn Or “heavens.”

[3:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “praise.” This could mean that the earth responds in praise as God’s splendor is observed in the skies. However, the Hebrew term תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) can stand by metonymy for what prompts it (i.e., fame, glory, deeds).

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

[3:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

[3:19]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”