Habakuk 3:16

Habakkuk Declares His Confidence

3:16 I listened and my stomach churned; ¹ 

the sound made my lips quiver.

My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying, ² 

and I shook as I tried to walk. ³ 

I long ⁴  for the day of distress

to come upon ⁵  the people who attack us.

Habakuk 1:5-10

The Lord Reveals Some Startling News

1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! ⁶ 

You will be shocked and amazed! ⁷ 

For I will do something in your lifetime ⁸ 

that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. ⁹ 

1:6 Look, I am about to empower ¹⁰  the Babylonians,

that ruthless ¹¹  and greedy ¹²  nation.

They sweep across the surface ¹³  of the earth,

seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;

they decide for themselves what is right. ¹⁴ 

1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards

and more alert ¹⁵  than wolves in the desert. ¹⁶ 

Their horses ¹⁷  gallop, ¹⁸ 

their horses come a great distance;

like a vulture ¹⁹  they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. ²⁰ 

1:9 All of them intend ²¹  to do violence;

every face is determined. ²² 

They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. ²³ 

1:10 They mock kings

and laugh at rulers.

They laugh at every fortified city;

they build siege ramps ²⁴  and capture them.

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “my insides trembled.”

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “decay entered my bones.”

[3:16]  ³ tc Heb “beneath me I shook, which….” The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher) appears to be a relative pronoun, but a relative pronoun does not fit here. The translation assumes a reading אֲשֻׁרָי (’ashuray, “my steps”) as well as an emendation of the preceding verb to a third plural form.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes that אָנוּחַ (’anuakh) is from the otherwise unattested verb נָוָח (navakh, “sigh”; see HALOT 680 s.v. II נוח; so also NEB). Most take this verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) and translate, “I wait patiently” (cf. NIV).

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “to come up toward.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Or “look among the nations and observe.” The imperatival forms in v. 5 are plural, indicating that the Lord’s message is for the whole nation, not just the prophet.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of the verb תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). A literal translation might read, “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sounds draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572-73 §34.4c.

[1:5]  ⁸ tc Heb “for a work working in your days.” Following the LXX reading, some supply a first person singular pronoun with the participle פֹּעֵל (po’el). Ellipsis of a first singular pronoun before participles is relatively rare (see GKC 360 §116.s); perhaps an original אֲנֹכִי (’anoki; or אֲנִי, ’aniy) followed the initial כִּי (ki) and was omitted by homoioteleuton.

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “you will not believe when it is told.” In this context the force of כִּי (ki) may be “when,” “if,” or “even though.”

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”

[1:6]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “the open spaces.”

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from him his justice, even his lifting up, goes out.” In this context שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) probably has the nuance “authority.” See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 150.

[1:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד).

[1:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3.

[1:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.”

[1:8]  ¹⁸ tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2).

[1:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred.

[1:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “come.”

[1:9]  ²² tn Heb “The totality of their faces is to the east” (or “is forward”). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מְגַמַּת (megammat) is unclear. For a discussion of options see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 93. NEB has “a sea of faces rolls on”; NIV “their hordes advance like a desert wind”; NRSV “with faces pressing forward.”

[1:9]  ²³ tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they heap up dirt.” This is a reference to the piling up of earthen ramps in the process of laying siege to a fortified city.