Ambacum 3
1 A PRAYER OF THE PROPHET AMBACUM, WITH A SONG.
The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, in the form of an ode.
2 O Lord, I have heard your report, and was afraid: I considered your works, and was amazed: you shall be known between the two living creatures, you shall be acknowledged when the years draw near; you shall be manifested when the time is come; when my soul is troubled, you will in wrath remember mercy.
O Jehovah, I have heard thy words, and tremble. O Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known, In wrath remember mercy!
3 God shall come from Thaeman, and the Holy One from the dark shady mount Pharan. (Pause)
God cometh from Teman, And the Holy One from mount Paran; His glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is full of his praise.
4 His excellence covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness shall be as light; [there were] horns in his hands, and he caused a mighty love of his strength.
His brightness is as the light; Rays stream forth from his hand, And there is the hiding-place of his power.
5 Before his face shall go a report, and it shall go forth into the plains,
Before him goeth the pestilence, And the plague followeth his steps.
6 the earth stood at his feet and trembled: he saw, and the nations melted away: the mountains were violently burst through, the everlasting hills melted at his everlasting going forth.
He standeth, and measureth the earth; He beholdeth, and maketh the nations tremble; The everlasting mountains are broken asunder; The eternal hills sink down; The eternal paths are trodden by him.
7 Because of troubles I looked upon the tents of the Ethiopians: the tabernacles also of the land of Madiam shall be dismayed.
I see the tents of Cushan in affliction, And the canopies of the land of Midian tremble.
8 Was you angry, O Lord, with the rivers? or [was] your wrath against the rivers, or your anger against the sea? for you will mount on your horses, and your chariots are salvation.
Is the anger of Jehovah kindled against the rivers, Is thy wrath against the rivers, Is thy indignation against the floods, That thou ridest on with thy horses, Upon thy chariots of victory?
9 Surely you did bend they bow at scepters, says the Lord. (Pause) The land of rivers shall be torn asunder.
Thy bow is made bare; Curses are the arrows of thy word; Thou causest rivers to break forth from the earth.
10 The nations shall see you and be in pain, [as you do] divide the moving waters: the deep uttered her voice, and raised her form on high.
The mountains see thee and tremble; The flood of waters overflows; The deep uttereth his voice, And lifteth up his hands on high.
11 The sun was exalted, and the moon stood still in her course: your darts shall go forth at the light, at the brightness of the gleaming of your arms.
The sun and the moon remain in their habitation, At the light of thine arrows which fly, At the brightness of the lightning of thy spear.
12 You will bring low the land with threatening, and in wrath you will break down the nations.
Thou marchest through the land in indignation; Thou thrashest the nations in anger;
13 You went forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed: you shall bring death on the heads of transgressors; you has brought bands upon [their] neck. (Pause)
Thou goest forth for the deliverance of thy people, For the deliverance of thine anointed. Thou smitest the head of the house of the wicked; Thou destroyest the foundation even to the neck.
14 You did cut asunder the heads of princes with amazement, they shall tremble in it; they shall burst their bridles, [they shall be] as a poor man devouring in secret.
Thou piercest with his own spears the chief of his captains, Who rushed like a whirlwind to scatter us; Who exulted, as if they should devour the distressed in a hiding-place.
15 And you do cause your horses to enter the sea, disturbing much water.
Thou ridest through the sea with thy horses, Through the raging of mighty waters.
16 I watched, and my belly trembled at the sound of the prayer of my lips, and trembling entered into my bones, and my frame was troubled within me; I will rest in the day of affliction, from going up to the people of my sojourning.
I have heard, and my heart trembleth; My lips quiver at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, and my knees tremble, That I must wait in silence for the day of trouble, When the invader shall come up against my people!
17 For [though] the fig tree shall bear no fruit, and there shall be no produce on the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall produce no food: the sheep have failed from the pasture, and there are no oxen at the cribs;
For the fig-tree shall not blossom, And there shall be no fruit upon the vine; The produce of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food. The flocks shall he cut off from the folds, And there shall be no herd in the stalls.
18 yet I will exult in the Lord, I will joy in God my Saviour.
Yet will I rejoice in Jehovah, I will exult in God, my helper.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will perfectly strengthen my feet; he mounts me upon high places, that I may conquer by his song.
The Lord Jehovah is my strength; He will make my feet like the hind's, And cause me to walk upon my high places. “To the leader of the music on my stringed instruments.”
