Habakkuk 3
Contemporary English Version
Habakkuk's Prayer
3 This is my prayer:[a]
2 I know your reputation, Lord,
and I am amazed
at what you have done.
Please turn from your anger
and be merciful;
do for us what you did
for our ancestors.
3 You are the same Holy God
who came from Teman
and Paran[b] to help us.
The brightness of your glory
covered the heavens,
and your praises were heard
everywhere on earth.
4 Your glory shone like the sun,
and light flashed from your hands,
hiding your mighty power.
5 Dreadful diseases and plagues
marched in front
and followed behind.
6 When you stopped,
the earth shook;
when you stared,
nations trembled;
when you walked
along your ancient paths,
eternal mountains and hills
crumbled and collapsed.
7 The tents of desert tribes
in Cushan and Midian[c]
were ripped apart.
8 Our Lord, were you angry
with the monsters
of the deep?[d]
You attacked in your chariot
and wiped them out.
9 Your arrows were ready
and obeyed your commands.[e]
You split the earth apart
with rivers and streams;
10 mountains trembled
at the sight of you;
rain poured from the clouds;
ocean waves roared and rose.
11 The sun and moon stood still,
while your arrows and spears
flashed like lightning.
12 In your furious anger,
you trampled on nations
13 to rescue your people
and save your chosen one.[f]
You crushed a nation's ruler
and stripped his evil kingdom
of its power.[g]
14 His troops had come like a storm,
hoping to scatter us
and glad to gobble us up.
To them we were refugees
in hiding—
but you smashed their heads
with their own weapons.[h]
15 Then your chariots churned
the waters of the sea.
Habakkuk's Response to God's Message
16 When I heard this message,[i]
I felt weak from fear,
and my lips quivered.
My bones seemed to melt,
and I stumbled around.
But I will patiently wait.
Someday those vicious enemies
will be struck by disaster.[j]
Trust in a Time of Trouble
17 Fig trees may no longer bloom,
or vineyards produce grapes;
olive trees may be fruitless,
and harvest time a failure;
sheep pens may be empty,
and cattle stalls vacant—
18 but I will still celebrate
because the Lord God
is my Savior.
19 (A) The Lord gives me strength.
He makes my feet as sure
as those of a deer,
and he helps me stand
on the mountains.[k]
To the music director:
Use stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- 3.1 prayer: The Hebrew text adds “according to the shigionoth,” which may mean a prayer of request or a prayer to be accompanied by a special musical instrument.
- 3.3 Teman … Paran: Teman is a district in Edom, but the name is sometimes used of the whole country of Edom; Paran is the hill country along the western border of the Gulf of Aqaba. In Judges 5.4, the Lord is said to have marched from Edom to help his people; in Deuteronomy 33.2, Paran is mentioned in connection with the Lord's appearance at Sinai.
- 3.7 Cushan and Midian: Tribes of the Arabian desert who were enemies of Israel.
- 3.8 monsters of the deep: The Hebrew text has “rivers and oceans,” which may stand for the powerful monsters that were thought to have lived there before the Lord defeated them.
- 3.9 obeyed your commands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.13 chosen one: Or “chosen ones.”
- 3.13 You crushed … power: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.14 but you … weapons: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.16 heard this message: Or “saw this vision.”
- 3.16 I will … disaster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.19 stand on the mountains: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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