19:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 4
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 5
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 6
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 7
and rely on that kind of behavior. 8
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 9 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 10
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 11
11:9 I cannot carry out 12 my fierce anger!
I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!
Because I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you –
I will not come in wrath!
1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; 13
my sovereign God, 14 you are immortal. 15
Lord, you have made them 16 your instrument of judgment. 17
Protector, 18 you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. 19
3:3 God comes 20 from Teman, 21
the sovereign 22 one from Mount Paran. 23 Selah. 24
His splendor covers the skies, 25
his glory 26 fills the earth.
3:7 “To 27 the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: 28
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 29 the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors 30 no one can shut, and shuts doors 31 no one can open:
“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, 35
Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”
1 tn Heb “and he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. The syntax is strange here and might suggest that it was the offerer who scooped out a handful of the grain offering for the memorial portion (G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 66), but based on v. 9 below it should be understood that it was the priest who performed this act (see, e.g., NRSV “After taking from it a handful of the choice flour and oil…the priest shall…”; see also J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:177, 181 and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 30).
2 sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see the previous clause), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (v. 3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23[7-16]). It was probably intended to call to mind (i.e., memorialize) before the
3 tn The words “it is” have been supplied. See the notes on Lev 1:9 and 2:3. There is no text critical problem here, but the syntax suggests the same translation.
4 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
7 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
8 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
9 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
10 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
11 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”
12 tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.
13 tn Heb “Are you not from antiquity, O
14 tn Heb “My God, my holy one.” God’s “holiness” in this context is his sovereign transcendence as the righteous judge of the world (see vv. 12b-13a), thus the translation “My sovereign God.”
15 tc The MT reads, “we will not die,” but an ancient scribal tradition has “you [i.e., God] will not die.” This is preferred as a more difficult reading that can explain the rise of the other variant. Later scribes who copied the manuscripts did not want to associate the idea of death with God in any way, so they softened the statement to refer to humanity.
16 tn Heb “him,” a collective singular referring to the Babylonians. The plural pronoun “them” has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
17 tn Heb “for judgment.”
18 tn Heb “Rock” or “Cliff.” This divine epithet views God as a place where one can go to be safe from danger. The translation “Protector” conveys the force of the metaphor (cf. KJV, NEB “O mighty God”).
19 tn Heb “to correct, reprove.”
20 tn In vv. 3-15 there is a mixture of eleven prefixed verbal forms (without vav [ו] consecutive or with vav conjunctive), sixteen suffixed forms, and three prefixed forms with vav consecutive. All of the forms are best taken as indicating completed action from the speaker’s standpoint (all of the prefixed forms being regarded as preterites). The forms could be translated with the past tense, but this would be misleading, for this is not a mere recital of God’s deeds in Israel’s past history. Habakkuk here describes, in terms reminiscent of past theophanies, his prophetic vision of a future theophany (see v. 7, “I saw”). From the prophet’s visionary standpoint the theophany is “as good as done.” This translation uses the English present tense throughout these verses to avoid misunderstanding. A similar strategy is followed by the NEB; in contrast note the NIV and NRSV, which consistently use past tenses throughout the section, and the NASB, which employs present tenses in vv. 3-5 and mostly past tenses in vv. 6-15.
21 sn Teman was a city or region in southern Edom.
22 tn Or traditionally, “holy one.” The term קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy [one]”) here refers to God’s sovereignty. See v. 3b.
23 sn The precise location of Mount Paran is unknown, but like Teman it was located to the southeast of Israel. Habakkuk saw God marching from the direction of Sinai.
24 tn Selah. The meaning of this musical term (which also appears in vv. 9, 13, and in the Psalms as well) is unknown.
25 tn Or “heavens.”
26 tn Heb “praise.” This could mean that the earth responds in praise as God’s splendor is observed in the skies. However, the Hebrew term תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) can stand by metonymy for what prompts it (i.e., fame, glory, deeds).
27 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
28 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
29 tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.
30 tn The word “door” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied in the translation. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. Since the following verse does contain the word “door” (θύραν, quran), that word has been supplied as the direct object here.
31 tn See the note on the word “door” earlier in this verse.
32 tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.
33 tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (eswqen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.
34 tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”
35 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”