Habakuk 3:1

Habakkuk’s Vision of the Divine Warrior

3:1 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet: ¹ 

Habakuk 3:3

3:3 God comes ²  from Teman, ³ 

the sovereign ⁴  one from Mount Paran. ⁵  Selah. ⁶ 

His splendor covers the skies, ⁷ 

his glory ⁸  fills the earth.

Habakuk 3:9

3:9 Your bow is ready for action; ⁹ 

you commission your arrows. ¹⁰  Selah.

You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. ¹¹ 

Habakuk 3:13

3:13 You march out to deliver your people,

to deliver your special servant. ¹² 

You strike the leader of the wicked nation, ¹³ 

laying him open from the lower body to the neck. ¹⁴  Selah.

Habakuk 3:19

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹⁵ 

He gives me the agility of a deer; ¹⁶ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ¹⁷ 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ¹⁸ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text adds עַל שִׁגְיֹנוֹת (’al shigyonot, “upon [or, “according to”] shigyonot”). The meaning of this word is uncertain. It may refer to the literary genre of the prayer or to the musical style to be employed when it is sung. The NEB leaves the term untranslated; several other modern English versions transliterate the term into English, sometimes with explanatory notes (NASB, NRSV “according to Shigionoth”; NIV “On shigyonoth”).

[3:3]  ² 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]  ³ sn Teman was a city or region in southern Edom.

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Or traditionally, “holy one.” The term קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy [one]”) here refers to God’s sovereignty. See v. 3b.

[3:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “heavens.”

[3:3]  ⁸ 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).

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “[into] nakedness your bow is laid bare.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sworn in are the arrow-shafts with a word.” The passive participle of שָׁבַע (shava’), “swear an oath,” also occurs in Ezek 21:23 ET (21:28 HT) referencing those who have sworn allegiance. Here the Lord’s arrows are personified and viewed as having received a commission which they have vowed to uphold. In Jer 47:6-7 the Lord’s sword is given such a charge. In the Ugaritic myths Baal’s weapons are formally assigned the task of killing the sea god Yam.

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[with] rivers you split open the earth.” A literal rendering like “You split the earth with rivers” (so NIV, NRSV) suggests geological activity to the modern reader, but in the present context of a violent thunderstorm, the idea of streams swollen to torrents by downpours better fits the imagery.

[3:9]  sn As the Lord comes in a thunderstorm the downpour causes streams to swell to river-like proportions and spread over the surface of the ground, causing flash floods.

[3:13]  ¹² tn Heb “anointed one.” In light of the parallelism with “your people” in the preceding line this could refer to Israel, but elsewhere the Lord’s anointed one is always an individual. The Davidic king is the more likely referent here.

[3:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “you strike the head from the house of wickedness.”

[3:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “laying bare [from] foundation to neck.”

[3:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

[3:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

[3:19]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”