Habakuk 1:7

1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;

they decide for themselves what is right. ¹ 

Habakuk 3:5

3:5 Plague goes before him;

pestilence ²  marches right behind him. ³ 

[1:7]  ¹ 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.

[3:5]  ² tn Because of parallelism with the previous line, the meaning “pestilence” is favored for רֶשֶׁף (reshef) here, but usage elsewhere suggests a destructive bolt of fire may be in view. See BDB 958 s.v.

[3:5]  sn There are mythological echoes here, for in Canaanite literature the god Resheph aids Baal in his battles. See J. Day, “New Light on the Mythological Background of the Allusion to Resheph in Habakkuk III 5,” VT 29 (1979): 353-55.

[3:5]  ³ tn Heb “goes out at his feet.”