Habakkuk 3
Good News Translation
A Prayer of Habakkuk
3 This is a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk:[a]
2 O Lord, I have heard of what you have done,
and I am filled with awe.
Now do again in our times
the great deeds you used to do.
Be merciful, even when you are angry.
3 God is coming again from Edom;
the holy God is coming from the hills of Paran.
His splendor covers the heavens,
and the earth is full of his praise.
4 He comes with the brightness of lightning;
light flashes from his hand,
there where his power is hidden.
5 He sends disease before him
and commands death to follow him.
6 When he stops, the earth shakes;
at his glance the nations tremble.
The eternal mountains are shattered;
the everlasting hills sink down,
the hills where he walked in ancient times.
7 I saw the people of Cushan afraid
and the people of Midian tremble.
8 Was it the rivers that made you angry, Lord?
Was it the sea that made you furious?
You rode upon the clouds;
the storm cloud was your chariot,
as you brought victory to your people.
9 You got ready to use your bow,
ready to shoot your arrows.[b]
Your lightning split open the earth.
10 When the mountains saw you, they trembled;
water poured down from the skies.
The waters under the earth roared,
and their waves rose high.
11 At the flash of your speeding arrows
and the gleam of your shining spear,
the sun and the moon stood still.
12 You marched across the earth in anger;
in fury you trampled the nations.
13 You went out to save your people,
to save your chosen king.
You struck down the leader of the wicked
and completely destroyed his followers.[c]
14 Your arrows pierced the commander of his army
when it came like a storm to scatter us,
gloating like those who secretly oppress the poor.[d]
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
and the mighty waters foamed.
16 I hear all this, and I tremble;
my lips quiver with fear.
My body goes limp,
and my feet stumble[e] beneath me.
I will quietly wait for the time to come
when God will punish those who attack us.
17 Even though the fig trees have no fruit
and no grapes grow on the vines,
even though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no grain,
even though the sheep all die
and the cattle stalls are empty,
18 I will still be joyful and glad,
because the Lord God is my savior.
19 (A)The Sovereign Lord gives me strength.
He makes me sure-footed as a deer
and keeps me safe on the mountains.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 3:1 Hebrew has an additional phrase, the meaning of which is unclear.
- Habakkuk 3:9 Probable text ready to shoot your arrows; Hebrew unclear.
- Habakkuk 3:13 Probable text completely … followers; Hebrew unclear.
- Habakkuk 3:14 Verse 14 in Hebrew is unclear.
- Habakkuk 3:16 Probable text my feet stumble; Hebrew I am excited, because.
Habakkuk 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk according to Shigionoth.
The Prophet’s Prayer
2 O Lord, I have heard of your renown,
and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.
In our own time revive it;
in our own time make it known;
in wrath may you remember mercy.(A)
3 God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.(B)
4 The brightness was like the sun;
rays came forth from his hand,
where his power lay hidden.(C)
5 Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed close behind.(D)
6 He stopped and shook the earth;
he looked and made the nations tremble.
The eternal mountains were shattered;
along his ancient pathways
the everlasting hills sank low.(E)
7 I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction;
the tent curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
8 Was your wrath against the rivers,[a] O Lord,
or your anger against the rivers[b]
or your rage against the sea,[c]
when you drove your horses,
your chariots to victory?(F)
9 You brandished your naked bow;
sated[d] were the arrows at your command.[e] Selah
You split the earth with rivers.(G)
10 The mountains saw you and writhed;
a torrent of water swept by;
the deep gave forth its voice.
The sun raised high its hands;(H)
11 the moon stood still in its exalted place,
at the light of your arrows speeding by,
at the gleam of your flashing spear.(I)
12 In fury you marched on the earth;
in anger you trampled nations.(J)
13 You came forth to save your people,
to save your anointed.
You crushed the head of the wicked house,
laying it bare from foundation to roof.[f] Selah(K)
14 You pierced with their[g] own arrows the head of his warriors,[h]
who came like a whirlwind to scatter us,[i]
gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the mighty waters.(L)
16 I hear, and I tremble within;
my lips quiver at the sound.
Rottenness enters into my bones,
and my steps tremble[j] beneath me.
I wait quietly for the day of calamity
to come upon the people who attack us.(M)
Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble
17 Though the fig tree does not blossom
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,(N)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.(O)
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and makes me tread upon the heights.[k]
Habakkuk 3
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
3 A PRAYER OF HABACUC THE PROPHET FOR IGNORANCES.
2 O Lord, I have heard thy hearing, and was afraid. O Lord, thy work, in the midst of the years bring it to life: In the midst of the years thou shalt make it known: when thou art angry, thou wilt remember mercy.
3 God will come from the south, and the holy one from mount Pharan: His glory covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise.
4 His brightness shall be as the light; horns are in his hands: There is his strength hid:
5 Death shall go before his face. And the devil shall go forth before his feet.
6 He stood and measured the earth. He beheld, and melted the nations: and the ancient mountains were crushed to pieces. The hills of the world were bowed down by the journeys of his eternity.
7 I saw the tents of Ethiopia for their iniquity, the curtains of the land of Madian shall be troubled.
8 Wast thou angry, O Lord, with the rivers? or was thy wrath upon the rivers? or thy indignation in the sea? Who will ride upon thy horses: and thy chariots are salvation.
9 Thou wilt surely take up thy bow: according to the oaths which thou hast spoken to the tribes. Thou wilt divide the rivers of the earth.
10 The mountains saw thee, and were grieved: the great body of waters passed away. The deep put forth its voice: the deep lifted up its hands.
11 The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation, in the light of thy arrows, they shall go in the brightness of thy glittering spear.
12 In thy anger thou wilt tread the earth under foot: in thy wrath thou wilt astonish the nations.
13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people: for salvation with thy Christ. Thou struckest the head of the house of the wicked: thou hast laid bare his foundation even to the neck.
14 Thou hast cursed his sceptres, the head of his warriors, them that came out as a whirlwind to scatter me. Their joy was like that of him that devoureth the poor man in secret.
15 Thou madest a way in the sea for thy horses, in the mud of many waters.
16 I have heard and my bowels were troubled: my lips trembled at the voice. Let rottenness enter into my bones, and swarm under me. That I may rest in the day of tribulation: that I may go up to our people that are girded.
17 For the fig tree shall not blossom: and there shall be no spring in the vines. The labour of the olive tree shall fail: and the fields shall yield no food: the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls.
18 But I will rejoice in the Lord: and I will joy in God my Jesus.
19 The Lord God is my strength: and he will make my feet like the feet of harts: and he the conqueror will lead me upon my high places singing psalms.
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.)
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson