Habakkuk 1:9-10

1:9 All of them intend ¹  to do violence;

every face is determined. ² 

They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. ³ 

1:10 They mock kings

and laugh at rulers.

They laugh at every fortified city;

they build siege ramps ⁴  and capture them.

Habakkuk 1:15

1:15 The Babylonian tyrant ⁵  pulls them all up with a fishhook;

he hauls them in with his throw net. ⁶ 

When he catches ⁷  them in his dragnet,

he is very happy. ⁸ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “come.”

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “The totality of their faces is to the east” (or “is forward”). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מְגַמַּת (megammat) is unclear. For a discussion of options see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 93. NEB has “a sea of faces rolls on”; NIV “their hordes advance like a desert wind”; NRSV “with faces pressing forward.”

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”

[1:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “they heap up dirt.” This is a reference to the piling up of earthen ramps in the process of laying siege to a fortified city.

[1:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Babylonian tyrant) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NASB “The Chaldeans”; NIV “The wicked foe”; NRSV “The enemy”). Babylonian imperialism is here compared to a professional fisherman who repeatedly brings in his catch and has plenty to eat.

[1:15]  ⁶ tn Apparently two different types of fishing nets are referred to here. The חֵרֶם (kherem, “throw net”) was used by fishermen standing on the shore (see Ezek 47:10), while the מִכְמֶרֶת (mikhmeret, “dragnet”) was used by men in a boat. See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 165.

[1:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he gathers.”

[1:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.