Habakkuk 3
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet on 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 your speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive your work in the middle of the years, in the middle 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.
[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 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
His glory was like [SIM] a sunrise; rays flashed from his hands where he hides his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
He sent plagues in front of him, and [other] plagues came behind him.
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.
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 affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
[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 Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was your anger against the rivers? was your wrath against the sea, that you did ride on your horses and 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 Your bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even your word. (Selah) You did 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 they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his 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 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of your arrows they went, and at the shining of your glittering 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 did march through the land in indignation, you did thresh the heathen in anger.
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, even for salvation with your anointed; you wounded the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation to the neck. (Selah)
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 You did 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.
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 did walk through the sea with your horses, through the heap of great waters.
You walked through the sea with your horses [to destroy our enemies], and caused the waves to surge.
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 comes up to the people, he will invade them with his troops.
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 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor 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:
[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 rejoice in the LORD, I will joy 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 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk on my high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
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.)
