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Habakkuk 3
The Message
Habakkuk 3
The Message
God Racing on the Crest of the Waves
3 1-2 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra:
God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you,
and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
remember mercy.
* * *
3-7 God’s on his way again,
retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
hoping he wouldn’t notice them.
* * *
8-16 God, is it River you’re mad at?
Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
and let loose a volley of arrows.
You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
Your flashing arrows stopped them,
your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
to descend on our attackers.
* * *
17-19 Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
I feel like I’m king of the mountain!
(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)
Habakkuk 3
Expanded Bible
Habakkuk 3
Expanded Bible
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 This is the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on shigionoth [C probably a literary or musical term].
2 Lord, I have heard the ·news [report] about you;
I am ·amazed [in awe; afraid] at what you have done.
Lord, do great things once again in ·our time [L the midst of the years];
make ·those things happen again [L them known] in ·our own days [L the midst of the years].
Even when you are angry,
remember to be ·kind [compassionate].
3 God is coming from Teman [C near Edom, south of Israel];
the Holy One comes from Mount Paran [C on the Sinai peninsula south of Israel; the language recalls God’s revelation at Mount Sinai; Deut. 33:2].
His glory covers the ·skies [heavens],
and his praise fills the earth.
4 He is like ·a bright light [flashing lightning; or brightness at dawn].
Rays of light ·shine [flash] from his hand,
and there he hides his power.
5 ·Sickness [Plague] goes before him,
and ·disease [pestilence] follows ·behind him [L at his feet].
6 He stands and ·shakes [or measures] the earth.
He looks, and the nations ·shake [or jump] with fear.
The ·mountains, which stood for ages, [eternal mountains] ·break into pieces [crumble];
the ·old [age-old; everlasting] hills ·fall [sink] down.
·God has always done this [Ancient paths/ways are his].
7 I saw that the tents of Cushan [C located in southern Transjordan] were in ·trouble [distress]
and that the ·tents [curtains] of the land of Midian trembled [Ex. 15:14–16; Josh. 2:9–10].
8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers,
or ·were you angry at [was your wrath against] the streams?
Were you ·angry [enraged] with the sea
when you rode your horses and chariots of victory?
9 You ·uncovered [pulled out; brandished] your bow
and commanded many arrows to be brought to you.
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and ·shook with fear [writhed; trembled].
The ·rushing [raging; torrents of] water ·flowed [swept by].
The ·sea [deep] ·made a loud noise [shouted; roared],
and ·its waves rose high [L lifted its hands high].
11 The sun and moon stood still in ·the sky [L lofty dwelling place];
they stopped when they saw the flash of your flying arrows
and the ·gleam [glint] of your ·shining [flashing] spear.
12 In ·anger [indignation] you marched on the earth;
in anger you ·punished [trampled; threshed] the nations.
13 You came out to ·save [rescue] your people,
to save your ·chosen one [anointed].
You crushed the ·leader [head] of the ·wicked ones [L house of the wicked]
and ·took everything he had [lay him bare], from ·head to toe [L foundation to neck].
14 With the enemy’s own ·spear [or arrows] you ·stabbed the leader of his army [L pierced his head; or pierced the heads of his soldiers/warriors].
His ·soldiers [warriors] rushed out like a storm to scatter us.
·They were happy [Rejoicing; Shouting with joy]
as they were ·robbing [plundering] the poor people in secret.
15 But you ·marched through [trampled on] the sea with your horses,
stirring the great waters.
16 I hear these things, and my body trembles;
my lips ·tremble [quiver] when I hear the sound.
My bones ·feel weak [L rot away],
and my legs shake.
But I will wait patiently for the day of ·disaster [calamity]
that will come to the people who ·attack [invade] us.
17 Fig trees may not ·grow figs [L blossom; bud],
and there may be no grapes on the vines.
·There may be no olives growing [L The produce of the olive fails/disappoints]
and no food growing in the fields.
There may be no sheep in the ·pens [fold]
and no cattle in the ·barns [stalls].
18 But I will still ·be glad [rejoice] in the Lord;
I will ·rejoice [be joyful] in God my Savior.
19 The Lord God is my strength.
He makes ·me like a deer that does not stumble [L my feet like a deer’s]
so I can walk on the ·steep mountains [heights].
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Habakkuk 3
New International Version
Habakkuk 3
New International Version
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.[a](A)
2 Lord, I have heard(B) of your fame;
I stand in awe(C) of your deeds, Lord.(D)
Repeat(E) them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.(F)
3 God came from Teman,(G)
the Holy One(H) from Mount Paran.[b](I)
His glory covered the heavens(J)
and his praise filled the earth.(K)
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;(L)
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power(M) was hidden.
5 Plague(N) went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled(O)
and the age-old hills(P) collapsed(Q)—
but he marches on forever.(R)
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midian(S) in anguish.(T)
8 Were you angry with the rivers,(U) Lord?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea(V)
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?(W)
9 You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.(X)
You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed.(Y)
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared(Z)
and lifted its waves(AA) on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still(AB) in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,(AC)
at the lightning(AD) of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed(AE) the nations.
13 You came out(AF) to deliver(AG) your people,
to save your anointed(AH) one.
You crushed(AI) the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,(AJ)
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched(AK) who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea(AL) with your horses,
churning the great waters.(AM)
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.(AN)
Yet I will wait patiently(AO) for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,(AP)
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,(AQ)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,(AR)
I will be joyful in God my Savior.(AS)
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;(AT)
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.(AU)
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 3:1 Probably a literary or musical term
- Habakkuk 3:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the middle of verse 9 and at the end of verse 13.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.