Habakkuk 3
New American Standard Bible
God’s People Saved
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to [a]Shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have (A)heard [b]the report about You, and [c]I was (B)afraid.
Lord, (C)revive (D)Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known.
In anger remember [d](E)mercy.
3 God comes from (F)Teman,
And the Holy One from Mount (G)Paran. Selah
His (H)splendor covers the heavens,
And the (I)earth is full of His praise.
4 His (J)radiance is like the sunlight;
He has rays flashing from His hand,
And the hiding of His (K)might is there.
5 Before Him goes (L)plague,
And (M)plague comes forth [e]after Him.
6 He stood and caused the earth to shudder;
He looked and (N)caused the nations to jump.
Yes, the everlasting mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills [f]collapsed.
His paths are (O)everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan under (P)distress,
The tent curtains of the land of (Q)Midian were trembling.
8 Did the Lord rage against the (R)rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your rage against the (S)sea,
That You (T)rode on Your horses,
On Your (U)chariots of salvation?
9 You removed Your (V)bow from its holder,
The arrows of Your word were [g]sworn. Selah
You (W)divided the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and quaked;
The downpour of waters swept by.
The deep (X)raised its voice,
It lifted high its hands.
11 (Y)Sun and moon stood in their lofty places;
They went away at the (Z)light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your flashing spear.
12 In indignation You (AA)marched through the earth;
In anger You [h](AB)trampled the nations.
13 You went forth for the (AC)salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your (AD)anointed.
You smashed the (AE)head of the house of evil
To uncover him from [i]foot to neck. Selah
14 You pierced with his (AF)own [j]arrows
The head of his [k]leaders.
They (AG)stormed in to scatter [l]us;
Their arrogance was like those
Who (AH)devour the oppressed in secret.
15 You (AI)trampled on the sea with Your horses,
On the (AJ)foam of many waters.
16 I heard, and my [m]inner parts (AK)trembled;
At the sound, my lips quivered.
Decay enters my (AL)bones,
And in my place I tremble;
Because I [n]must (AM)wait quietly for the day of distress,
[o]For the (AN)people to arise who will attack us.
17 Even if the (AO)fig tree does not blossom,
And there is no [p]fruit on the vines,
If the yield of the (AP)olive fails,
And the fields produce no food,
Even if the (AQ)flock disappears from the fold,
And there are (AR)no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will (AS)triumph in the Lord,
I will (AT)rejoice in the (AU)God of my salvation.
19 The Lord [q]God is my (AV)strength,
And (AW)He has made my feet like deer’s feet,
And has me walk on my (AX)high places.
For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 3:1 Perhaps a highly emotional poetic form
- Habakkuk 3:2 Or Your report
- Habakkuk 3:2 Or I am in awe, O Lord, of Your work; In the midst of the years revive it,
- Habakkuk 3:2 Or compassion
- Habakkuk 3:5 Lit at His feet
- Habakkuk 3:6 Lit cowered
- Habakkuk 3:9 Lit oaths
- Habakkuk 3:12 Or threshed
- Habakkuk 3:13 Lit base
- Habakkuk 3:14 Lit shafts
- Habakkuk 3:14 Or villagers
- Habakkuk 3:14 Lit me
- Habakkuk 3:16 Lit belly
- Habakkuk 3:16 Or sigh for
- Habakkuk 3:16 Or To come upon the people who will
- Habakkuk 3:17 Lit produce
- Habakkuk 3:19 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Habakkuk 3
Young's Literal Translation
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:
2 O Jehovah, I heard thy report, I have been afraid, O Jehovah, Thy work! in midst of years revive it, In the midst of years Thou makest known In anger Thou dost remember mercy.
3 God from Teman doth come, The Holy One from mount Paran. Pause! Covered the heavens hath His majesty, And His praise hath filled the earth.
4 And the brightness is as the light, He hath rays out of His hand, And there -- the hiding of His strength.
5 Before Him goeth pestilence, And a burning flame goeth forth at His feet.
6 He hath stood, and He measureth earth, He hath seen, and He shaketh off nations, And scatter themselves do mountains of antiquity, Bowed have the hills of old, The ways of old [are] His.
7 Under sorrow I have seen tents of Cushan, Tremble do curtains of the land of Midian.
8 Against rivers hath Jehovah been wroth? Against rivers [is] Thine anger? Against the sea [is] Thy wrath? For Thou dost ride on Thy horses -- Thy chariots of salvation?
9 Utterly naked Thou dost make Thy bow, Sworn are the tribes -- saying, `Pause!' [With] rivers Thou dost cleave the earth.
10 Seen thee -- pained are mountains, An inundation of waters hath passed over, Given forth hath the deep its voice, High its hands it hath lifted up.
11 Sun -- moon -- hath stood -- a habitation, At the light thine arrows go on, At the brightness, the glittering of thy spear.
12 In indignation Thou dost tread earth, In anger Thou dost thresh nations.
13 Thou hast gone forth for the salvation of Thy people, For salvation with Thine anointed, Thou hast smitten the head of the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation unto the neck. Pause!
14 Thou hast pierced with his staves the head of his leaders, They are tempestuous to scatter me, Their exultation [is] as to consume the poor in secret.
15 Thou hast proceeded through the sea with Thy horses -- the clay of many waters.
16 I have heard, and my belly trembleth, At the noise have my lips quivered, Rottenness doth come into my bones, And in my place I do tremble, That I rest for a day of distress, At the coming up of the people, he overcometh it.
17 Though the fig-tree doth not flourish, And there is no produce among vines, Failed hath the work of the olive, And fields have not yielded food, Cut off from the fold hath been the flock, And there is no herd in the stalls.
18 Yet I, in Jehovah I exult, I do joy in the God of my salvation.
19 Jehovah the Lord [is] my strength, And He doth make my feet like hinds, And on my high-places causeth me to tread. To the overseer with my stringed instruments!
Habakkuk 3
Easy-to-Read Version
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet.[a]
2 Lord, I have heard the news about you.
I am amazed, Lord, at the powerful things you did in the past.
Now I pray that you will do great things in our time.
Please make these things happen in our own days.
But in your anger,
remember to show mercy to us. Selah
3 God is coming from Teman.
The Holy One is coming from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covers the heavens,
and his praise fills the earth!
4 Rays of light shine from his hand, a bright, shining light.
There is such power hiding in that hand.
5 The sickness went before him,
and the destroyer followed behind him.[b]
6 He stood and judged the earth.
He looked at the people of all the nations,
and they shook with fear.
For many years the mountains stood strong,
but those mountains fell to pieces.
Those old, old hills fell down.
God has always been able to do that.
7 I saw that the cities of Cushan were in trouble
and that the houses of Midian trembled with fear.
8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers?
Were you angry at the streams?
Were you angry at the sea?
Were you angry when you rode your horses and chariots to victory?
9 Even then you showed your rainbow.
It was proof of your agreement with the families of the earth.[c] Selah
And the dry land split the rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and shook.
The water flowed off the land.
The water from the sea made a loud noise
as it lost its power over the land.
11 The sun and the moon lost their brightness.
They stopped shining when they saw your bright flashes of lightning.
That lightning was like spears and arrows shooting through the air.
12 In anger you walked on the earth
and punished the nations.
13 You came to save your people
and to lead your chosen king[d] to victory.
You killed the leader in every evil family,
from the least important person
to the most important in the land.[e] Selah
14 You used Moses’ walking stick
to stop the enemy soldiers.
Those soldiers came
like a powerful storm to fight against us.
They thought they could defeat us easily,
as robbing the poor in secret.
15 But you marched your horses
through the deep water, stirring up the mud.
16 My whole body shook when I heard the story.
My lips trembled.
I felt weak deep down in my bones
and stood there shaking.
But I will wait patiently for destruction to come to those who attack us.
Always Rejoice in the Lord
17 Figs might not grow on the fig trees,
and grapes might not grow on the vines.
Olives might not grow on the olive trees,
and food might not grow in the fields.
There might not be any sheep in the pens
or cattle in the barns.
18 But I will still be glad in the Lord
and rejoice in God my Savior.
19 The Lord God gives me my strength.
He helps me run fast like a deer.
He leads me safely on the mountains.
To the music director. On my stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 3:1 The Hebrew text adds “according to shigyonoth,” which may be an instruction for a special style of music.
- Habakkuk 3:5 This probably refers to the diseases and the angel of death that God sent against the Egyptians when God freed Israel from slavery.
- Habakkuk 3:9 rainbow … earth See Gen. 9.
- Habakkuk 3:13 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.”
- Habakkuk 3:13 You killed … in the land Literally, “You struck the head from the wicked house. From the foundation to the neck they were laid bare.”
Habakkuk 3
King James Version
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
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