Habakkuk 3
1 The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, in the form of an ode.
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 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 cometh from Teman, And the Holy One from mount Paran; His glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is 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 His brightness is as the light; Rays stream forth from his hand, And there is the hiding-place of his power.
His glory was like [SIM] a sunrise; rays flashed from his hands where he hides his power.
5 Before him goeth the pestilence, And the plague followeth his steps.
He sent plagues in front of him, and [other] plagues came behind him.
6 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.
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 see the tents of Cushan in affliction, And the canopies of the land of Midian 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 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?
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 Thy bow is made bare; Curses are the arrows of thy word; Thou causest rivers to break forth from the earth.
[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 see thee and tremble; The flood of waters overflows; The deep uttereth his voice, And lifteth 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 the moon remain in their habitation, At the light of thine arrows which fly, At the brightness of the lightning of thy 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 Thou marchest through the land in indignation; Thou thrashest the nations in anger;
Being very angry [DOU], you walked across the earth and trampled the [armies of many] nations.
13 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.
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 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.
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 Thou ridest through the sea with thy horses, Through the raging of mighty waters.
You walked through the sea with your horses [to destroy our enemies], and caused the waves to surge.
16 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!
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 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.
[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 will I rejoice in Jehovah, I will exult in God, my helper.
I will rejoice because [I know] Yahweh. I will be joyful because Yahweh my God is the one who saves me!
19 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.”
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.)
