Discovery BoxHabakkuk 1:13
Context1:13 You are too just 1 to tolerate 2 evil;
you are unable to condone 3 wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people? 4
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour 5 those more righteous than they are? 6
Habakkuk 3:6
Context3:6 He takes his battle position 7 and shakes 8 the earth;
with a mere look he frightens 9 the nations.
The ancient mountains disintegrate; 10
the primeval hills are flattened.
He travels on the ancient roads. 11
Habakkuk 1:3
Context1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? 12
Why do you put up with wrongdoing? 13
Destruction and violence confront 14 me;
conflict is present and one must endure strife. 15
Habakkuk 1:5
Context1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! 16
You will be shocked and amazed! 17
For I will do something in your lifetime 18
that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. 19
Habakkuk 2:4
Context2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, 20
but the person of integrity 21 will live 22 because of his faithfulness. 23
Habakkuk 2:15
Context2:15 “You who force your neighbor to drink wine 24 are as good as dead 25 –
you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, 26
so you can look at their genitals. 27
Habakkuk 2:1
Context2:1 I will stand at my watch post;
I will remain stationed on the city wall. 28
I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me
and can know 29 how I should answer
when he counters my argument. 30
Habakkuk 1:9
Context1:9 All of them intend 31 to do violence;
every face is determined. 32
They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. 33
Habakkuk 1:6
Context1:6 Look, I am about to empower 34 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 35 and greedy 36 nation.
They sweep across the surface 37 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
[1:13] 1 tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.
[1:13] 2 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
[1:13] 3 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
[1:13] 4 tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.
[1:13] 6 tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”
[3:6] 8 tn This verb has been traditionally understood as “measure” (from מוּד, mud), but the immediately following context (vv. 6b-7) favors the meaning “shake” from מָוד (mavd; see HALOT 555 s.v.).
[3:6] 9 tn Heb “makes [the nations] jump [in fear].”
[3:6] 10 tn Or “crumbled,” broke into pieces.”
[3:6] 11 tn Heb “ancient ways [or, “doings”] are his.” The meaning of this line is unclear. Traditionally it has been translated, “his ways are eternal.” However, in this context (see vv. 3, 7) it is more likely that the line speaks of the
[1:3] 13 tn Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”
[1:3] 14 tn Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?”
[1:3] 16 tn Heb “and there is conflict and strife he lifts up.” The present translation takes the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) in the sense of “carry, bear,” and understands the subject to be indefinite (“one”).
[1:5] 19 tn Or “look among the nations and observe.” The imperatival forms in v. 5 are plural, indicating that the Lord’s message is for the whole nation, not just the prophet.
[1:5] 20 tn The Hebrew text combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of the verb תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). A literal translation might read, “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sounds draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572-73 §34.4c.
[1:5] 21 tc Heb “for a work working in your days.” Following the LXX reading, some supply a first person singular pronoun with the participle פֹּעֵל (po’el). Ellipsis of a first singular pronoun before participles is relatively rare (see GKC 360 §116.s); perhaps an original אֲנֹכִי (’anoki; or אֲנִי, ’aniy) followed the initial כִּי (ki) and was omitted by homoioteleuton.
[1:5] 22 tn Heb “you will not believe when it is told.” In this context the force of כִּי (ki) may be “when,” “if,” or “even though.”
[2:4] 25 tn The meaning of this line is unclear, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding the second word, עֲפְּלָה (’apÿlah). Some read this as an otherwise unattested verb עָפַל (’afal, “swell”) from which are derived nouns meaning “mound” and “hemorrhoid.” This “swelling” is then understood in an abstract sense, “swell with pride.” This would yield a translation, “As for the proud, his desires are not right within him” (cf. NASB “as for the proud one”; NIV “he is puffed up”; NRSV “Look at the proud!”). A multitude of other interpretations of this line, many of which involve emendations of the problematic form, may be found in the commentaries and periodical literature. The present translation assumes an emendation to a Pual form of the verb עָלַף (’alaf, “be faint, exhausted”). (See its use in the Pual in Isa 51:20, and in the Hitpael in Amos 8:13 and Jonah 4:8.) In the antithetical parallelism of the verse, it corresponds to חָיָה (khayah, “live”). The phrase לֹא יָשְׁרָה נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹ (lo’ yoshrah nafsho bo), literally, “not upright his desire within him,” is taken as a substantival clause that contrasts with צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “the righteous one”) and serves as the subject of the preceding verb. Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in the sense of “desire” (see BDB 660-61 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ for a list of passages where the word carries this sense).
[2:4] 26 tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.
[2:4] 27 tn Or “will be preserved.” In the immediate context this probably refers to physical preservation through both the present oppression and the coming judgment (see Hab 3:16-19).
[2:4] 28 tn Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (’emunah) has traditionally been translated “faith,” but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness.” The antecedent of the suffix has been understood in different ways. It could refer to God’s faithfulness, but in this case one would expect a first person suffix (the original form of the LXX has “my faithfulness” here). Others understand the “vision” to be the antecedent. In this case the reliability of the prophecy is in view. For a statement of this view, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 111-12. The present translation assumes that the preceding word “[the person of] integrity” is the antecedent. In this case the
[2:15] 31 tn No direct object is present after “drink” in the Hebrew text. “Wine” is implied, however, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:15] 32 tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.
[2:15] 33 tc Heb “pouring out your anger and also making drunk”; or “pouring out your anger and [by] rage making drunk.” The present translation assumes that the final khet (ח) on מְסַפֵּחַ (misapeakh, “pouring”) is dittographic and that the form should actually be read מִסַּף (missaf, “from a bowl”).
[2:15] 34 tn Heb “their nakedness,” a euphemism.
[2:1] 37 sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.
[2:1] 38 tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:1] 39 tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”
[1:9] 44 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] 45 tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”
[1:6] 49 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
[1:6] 50 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
[1:6] 51 tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.
