Habakkuk 3
1 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:
Yahweh, I have heard about you; I revere you because of [all the amazing] things that you have done. In our time, do again [some of] those things that you did long ago! Even when you are angry [with us], be merciful [to us]!
2 O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. (Selah) His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth.
[In the vision, I saw] God, the Holy One, coming from the Teman [district in Edom]; [and I also saw] him coming from the Paran Hills [in the Sinai area]. His glory filled the sky, and the earth was full of [people who were] praising him.
4 His radiance was like the sunlight; rays flashed from His hand, where His power is hidden.
His glory was like [SIM] a sunrise; rays flashed from his hands where he hides his power.
5 Plague went before Him, and fever followed in His steps.
He sent plagues in front of him, and [other] plagues came behind him.
6 He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.
When he stopped, the earth shook. When he looked at the nations, [all the people] trembled. The hills and mountains that have existed for a very long time [HYP] collapsed and crumbled. Yahweh is the one who exists eternally/forever!
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling.
[In the vision] I saw the [people who live in] tents in the Cushan [region] being afflicted, and the people in the Midian [region] trembling.
8 Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?
Yahweh, was it because you were angry with the rivers and streams that you were angry with them? Did the seas cause you to be furious, with the result that you rode through them with horses that were pulling chariots that enabled you to defeat them?
9 You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. (Selah) You split the earth with rivers.
[It was as though] you uncovered your bow, took arrows from your quiver, [and prepared to shoot them]. [Then with lightning] you split open the earth, and streams burst forth.
10 The mountains saw You and quaked; torrents of water swept by. The deep roared with its voice and lifted its hands on high.
[It is as though] the mountains saw you [doing that], and they trembled. Floods rushed by; [it was as though] the deep ocean roared and caused its waves to rise up high.
11 Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.
The sun and moon stopped moving in the sky while your [lightning] flashed [past like] a swift arrow, and your glittering spear flashed.
12 You marched across the earth with fury; You threshed the nations in wrath.
Being very angry [DOU], you walked across the earth and trampled the [armies of many] nations.
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe.
But you [also] went to rescue us, your people, and to save the [king] (Or, [people]) whom you had chosen [MTY]. You struck down the leader [MTY] of those wicked people and stripped off his clothes, from his head to his feet.
14 With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak.
With his own spear you destroyed the leader of those soldiers who rushed like [SIM] a whirlwind to [attack and] scatter us, thinking that they could conquer us [Israelis] easily.
15 You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
You walked through the sea with your horses [to destroy our enemies], and caused the waves to surge.
16 I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us.
When I saw that vision, my heart pounded and my lips quivered [because I became afraid]. My legs became weak and I shook, [because I was terrified]. But I will wait quietly for the people [of Babylonia], those who invaded our country, to experience disasters!
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,
[Therefore, ] even if there are no blossoms on the fig trees, and there are no grapes on the grapevines, and even if there are no olives growing on the olive trees, and there are no crops in the fields, and even if the flocks [of sheep and goats] die in the fields, and there are no cattle in the stalls/barns,
18 yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
I will rejoice because [I know] Yahweh. I will be joyful because Yahweh my God is the one who saves me!
19 GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights!
Yahweh the Lord is the one who causes me to be strong; he enables me to climb [(safely/without falling)] in the [rocky] mountains, like [SIM] a deer does. (This message is for the choir director: [When this prayer is sung, it is to be accompanied by people playing] stringed instruments.)
