Habakuk 1:16

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

and burns incense to his dragnet; ² 

for because of them he has plenty of food, ³ 

and more than enough to eat. ⁴ 

Habakuk 3:4

3:4 He is as bright as lightning; ⁵ 

a two-pronged lightning bolt flashes from his hand. ⁶ 

This is the outward display of his power. ⁷ 

Habakuk 3:11

3:11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; ⁸ 

the flash of your arrows drives them away, ⁹ 

the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. ¹⁰ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “therefore.”

[1:16]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “for by them his portion is full [or, “fat”].”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his food is plentiful [or, “fat”].”

[3:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “[His] radiance is like light.” Some see a reference to sunlight, but the Hebrew word אוֹר (’or) here refers to lightning, as the context indicates (see vv. 4b, 9, 11). The word also refers to lightning in Job 36:32 and 37:3, 11, 15.

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “two horns from his hand to him.” Sharp, pointed lightning bolts have a “horn-like” appearance. The weapon of “double lightning” appears often in Mesopotamian representations of gods. See Elizabeth Van Buren, Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art (AnOr), 70-73.

[3:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and there [is] the covering of his strength”; or “and there is his strong covering.” The meaning of this line is unclear. The point may be that the lightning bolts are merely a covering, or outward display, of God’s raw power. In Job 36:32 one reads that God “covers his hands with light [or, “lightning”].”

[3:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “in their lofty dwelling places.”

[3:11]  ⁹ tn Or “at the light of your arrows they vanish.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “at the brightness of the lightning of your spear.”