Habakkuk 3
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:
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 heard thy report, I have been afraid, O Jehovah, Thy work! in midst of years revive it, In the midst of years Thou makest known In anger Thou dost remember mercy.
3 God from Teman doth come, The Holy One from mount Paran. (Pause) Covered the heavens hath His majesty, And His praise hath 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 And the brightness is as the light, He hath rays out of His hand, And there — the hiding of His strength.
His glory was like [SIM] a sunrise; rays flashed from his hands where he hides his power.
5 Before Him goeth pestilence, And a burning flame goeth forth at His feet.
He sent plagues in front of him, and [other] plagues came behind him.
6 He hath stood, and He measureth earth, He hath seen, and He shaketh off nations, And scatter themselves do mountains of antiquity, Bowed have the hills of old, The ways of old [are] His.
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 Under sorrow I have seen tents of Cushan, Tremble do curtains of the land of Midian.
[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 Against rivers hath Jehovah been wroth? Against rivers [is] Thine anger? Against the sea [is] Thy wrath? For Thou dost ride on Thy horses — Thy 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 Utterly naked Thou dost make Thy bow, Sworn are the tribes — saying, (Pause) [With] rivers Thou dost cleave 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 Seen thee — pained are mountains, An inundation of waters hath passed over, Given forth hath the deep its voice, High its hands it hath lifted up.
[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 — moon — hath stood — a habitation, At the light thine arrows go on, At the brightness, the glittering 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 In indignation Thou dost tread earth, In anger Thou dost thresh nations.
Being very angry [DOU], you walked across the earth and trampled the [armies of many] nations.
13 Thou hast gone forth for the salvation of Thy people, For salvation with Thine anointed, Thou hast smitten the head of the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation unto the neck. (Pause)
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 hast pierced with his staves the head of his leaders, They are tempestuous to scatter me, Their exultation [is] as to consume the poor in secret.
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 hast proceeded through the sea with Thy horses — the clay of many 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 belly trembleth, At the noise have my lips quivered, Rottenness doth come into my bones, And in my place I do tremble, That I rest for a day of distress, At the coming up of the people, he overcometh it.
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 doth not flourish, And there is no produce among vines, Failed hath the work of the olive, And fields have not yielded food, Cut off from the fold hath been the flock, And there is 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, in Jehovah I exult, I do 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 Jehovah the Lord [is] my strength, And He doth make my feet like hinds, And on my high-places causeth me to tread. To the overseer with 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.)
